Those who do not belong
by seasnake.756
Summary: Situated 100 years after DGM, time has left Allen behind and on a starry winter night, he meets Dumbledore.No longer a oneshot. Xover with Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1

This is something I wrote like ages ago and didn't post for some reason. Featuring a hypothetical meeting between Allen and Dumbledore. Hope you like XD

Disclaimer: OK eveyone together now. 1 2 3 NOW: Seasnakey doesn't own, Hoshino Katsura does... Is that clear enough?! Sniff, I'll go cry in my corner now.

(btw just in case if you didn't notice yet, this isn't a part of my angst series... I think)

* * *

**2 years before the events of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone.**

Dumbledore doesn't know what possessed him to go outside that night. Perhaps it was because he needed fresh air or that he felt that something was wrong.

Or a fated meeting.

But regardless, it was a star-filled winter night.

He was crossing the bridge that led to Hagrids hut when he heard it. The strange hurring **(A/N dunno what it is)** sound he associated with muggle world machines.

He saw strange ball-shaped _things_ coming towards him. Five of them. The things were flying above the gorge **(the one showed numerously in PoA)** and they were fast. He briefly contemplated running but realized that it would be futile. He heard numerous gunshots and felt the bridge give away below him. He wasn't worried about the fall, he wasn't called a great wizard for nothing. He was more worried about the debris.

He was about to draw his wand when he felt his back collide with something soft, yet firm, warm, yet cold.

Then everything went white. For a moment that was the only thing he saw.

Soon Dumbledore felt stone beneath his feet. He heard five, almost simultaneous explosions, when he opened his eyes. He didn't know when he'd closed them.

He was standing a safe distance away from the edge of the now broken bridge. A brief damage assessment revealed that the gap was pretty much in the middle of the entire bridge. A three-meter jump to get to the other side. Nothing too extensive to fix.

Dumbledore lifted his curious gaze to his saviour. The figure was wearing a brown, tattered cape that whirled around with the wind. Under the cape was a dress shirt full of holes, gloves, ripped black pants and battered combat boots. Covering his head was a cap and it appeared that most of his face was covered in bandages. In addition to the scarf around his head and neck.

One eye, almost silver in colour, was looking at him from that face, the other was covered with bandages. The visible eye was neutral at the first glance but Dumbledore soon realized that the three meters wasn't a distance long enough to prevent him from getting lost in the river of emotions and experiences the gaze held.

The figure realized that holding eye-contact wasn't clever. He broke the spell.

"Are you alright?" He asked. The voice of the stranger was a mixture of a young boy and something Dumbledore didn't know. It had a disused and a tired quality to it. He didn't appear to be cold at all.

Speaking of cold, Dumbledore felt like he was freezing. And that he still hadn't answered. He calmed himself.

"Yes, I'm fine. Would you like to come inside? You must be cold." Dumbledore suggested. He wanted to know more. Of the strange ball shaped things and his saviour.

There was hesitation in that silver eye.

"I guess I could. It is a rather cold night." He didn't sound very convincing. It was as if he just noticed how cold it really was.

Then Dumbledore remembered the irrelevant little gap between them.

"Excuse me, I'll mend the bridge for you-" He started.

"There is no need to." The melodic voice said. The owner of the voice tensed and jumped the three-meter distance like it was nothing. After a graceful landing Dumbledore waved his wand and muttered a few words. After the bridge fixed itself, Dumbledore turned his eyes to the boy who was looking curiously at his wand. He smiled warmly and left towards the castle. The boy followed him with almost soundless steps.

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They entered the castle in silence. Albus was not in need of a light and it appeared that his guest wasn't disturbed by the darkness. They headed to the headmasters office, since there was the most privacy. The office was perfectly lit so both of them blinked to get used to the light. Albus sat down and gestured his guest to do the same. They stared each other for a while.

"Welcome to Hogwards, school for witchcraft and wizardry. I am the Headmaster professor Albus Dumbledore. May I ask you name?"

"You can call me Kal if you want." The newly named Kal answered.

"Judging from your answer, it's not your real name, is it?"

"No, it's not but I haven't used my real name for ages and I don't feel the need to start now."

Albus hummed thoughtfully for a moment and decided to get to business. "What were those things? I believe that you were responsible for the white light?

A dry chuckle. "Yes it was me. As to what you saw, those were akuma. Living weapons created from the souls of the departed."

"It sounds like they were brought back to life to me."

"So they say," Kals eye appeared to be smiling," but in reality they are only brought back to kill others. The souls are bind to the metal body for eternity unless someone like me who has a specific kind of weapon, releases them. It is a terrible weight.

Kal fell quiet for a second. He was looking somewhere past Albus. He seemed to be lost in memories. He shrugged and continued.

"There used to be a man who could bring the souls back. He just needed sadness to bring them back, to imprison them to eternal enslavement."

"Or that's how it used to be. That man is no longer among the living ones. Nowadays the akumas are remnants of what used to be. New ones can't be made because he was the only one who was capable of reaching behind the veil of death. His other allies, the Noah family, were also destroyed."

Albus digested the information he'd just received. The thought sounded absurd.

"How were they destroyed? And those things cause noise when they blow up, doesn't it cause a commotion with civilians?" Dumbledore was getting even more curious.

"These days I can take care of them pretty discreetly since the numbers are so few and there is no longer someone who controls them. But when He, the Earl was alive, we wore black coats with silver ornaments, we were an organisation of great power. They called us exorcists. We made ourselves targets for the akuma. There were a lot more of them too. We searched for Innocence, a substance made by God to use in battle against the Earl. We searched for people who were compatible with it. Many died and only few survived. But they are long gone now. But that was a century ago. The only thing that remains is a section in the Vatican, they take care of the last akumas."

"Are you saying that you are hundred years old?"

"Heh, I know it doesn't show in my face." His eye shone in the way only old people could.

Albus could only trust him. "Why do you cover yourself?" He boldly asked.

He was rewarded with a free laugh as Kal roused from his soft seat and took off his cap. He unbind his scarf, revealing silvery white hair, uneven ends almost reaching his elbows. He eased the bandages from his face. His skin was almost transparently pale. In the left side of his face was a black scar that started from his forehead across his eye, ending on his jawbone. Albus was distinctly reminded of the young Harry who would arrive to Hogwards in a few years.

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Albus also noted that under the covers was a very expressive face. It was almost feminine but still held a clear manly quality. The only thing that that was out of place in that face was the wary and tired expression. He wasn't relaxed, he just appeared to be.

"As you said yourself, your face does not match your age. But your hair does." Albus remarked with a wide smile. An expression of deep irony twisted Kal's face.

"Now, that's a rather interesting feat since it has been white since I was 12." They both blinked and laughed heartily.

"I trust it has something to do with that scar you have?" Albus stated his thoughts and silence reined the room again.

"You're a quick one, aren't you? Yes, that is indeed the case. I made a mistake and I'm still paying the price. The scar is a curse but thanks to it, I can tell the difference between a human and an akuma. Normally it would be impossible."

"Is it connected with your age?"

"I believe so. Normally exorcists like me, whose body is a weapon, die much sooner. Perhaps, instead of going to hell, I'll pay for my sins in this world so that I may reside in heaven after I've finished my punishment."

"Or then you are doomed to live forever." Albus concluded. Kal smiled a broken smile that hurt to look at.

"I don't know. I think of that when there are no akuma left in this world." A shrug. "But tell me: has there been a some kind of war here a while ago? This place has dark memories and I know of the commotion 8 years ago in here Britain." 'It smells like blood' was left unsaid.

"You connected them quite easily. Did you suspect something supernatural" A nod. "I thought so."

And so he proceeded to tell all about Voldemort and his rein of terror. By the time they were ready the false dawn was rising and a comfortable silence had descended.

"He's going to come back, isn't he? That Voldy gyu." Albus had no intention of correcting Kal. He didn't know what he'd seen but it just might be a little bigger than the threat Voldemort presented.

"Yes. It's inevitable. And the young Harry has to fight." He sighed "I wish it wouldn't be this way…" He trailed off. The weight of everything suddenly felt heavier. He felt desperate, something he hadn't truly felt for years. Apparently it was on his face too since Kal was looking overly compassionate.

"Those who have to do it rarely want to. They just have to. Fate is rarely kind to us lowlifes. We just have to live with it. Close your eyes for a moment." Albus did so.

He saw white light behind his eyelids and for a moment he felt like he was floating. Physically and mentally. It disappeared and he found himself sitting again. Kal was smiling.

"You look like you've actually slept this night. That's good. Now, I believe, you have a breakfast to attend to and I have a journey to continue. And yes, you people can stop pretending now" He added, clearly towards the paintings. Fake yawns and nervous laughs were his answer. He sighed, obviously irritated by their need to keep charades.

"Why not eat with us?" Albus felt like he should give his guest compensation. For what, he didn't know.

"It's bound to raise questions from everyone. Not only my presence, also my tendency of inhaling food many times my body weight."

"How does someone like you even survive in this world?" Albus stated incredulously. "I'll ask a house elf to bring you food." He was at the door. "You can also sleep if you want. I doubt you'll be here when I return?"

Albus only heard a "we'll see" before he closed the door.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The paintings were all watching curiously at the creature who vacated the office. Kal jumped up from the chair and stretched. His back cracked after being in the same position for so long. A louder crack was heard when a house elf appeared with a tray-full of food. For a few moments Kal just watched the elf with something unreadable blinking in his eyes. The he took the tray and politely asked the elf to bring five more trays, "for starters", he added.

He laughed at the stunned faces of the ex-principals. "Should I have told Albus that I haven't actually eaten for a couple of years now?"

"Isn't that quite an inhuman thing to say?" Phineas Nigellus piped up. "Are you even one?"

"I know that I used to be. Although now it's a little different." He grinned mischievously. "Besides, that depends on your definition of a human." He started devouring food as more arrived. The result was 19 trays of food cleared.

"Did you even taste that?" The paintings exclaimed.

"That is for me to know and you to wonder." He carefully wrapped himself again and placed the cap back. The cape was secured around his neck. He lifted his left hand and muttered something. His body became transparent and lost some of its human characteristics. A black-and-white mask formed on the face. The creature went through the window and flew to the sky. A little before lunch Albus returned to find a note on his table. Written on it (with letters youngsters these days called 'ancient') was: I'll come for a visit later, perhaps in a couple years. I'm interested in how your war will go. If there'll be akumas, trust me, I will be there.

Albus smiled and burned the note. It was time for lunch.

The paintings decided not to mention the fact that the visitor had had a left hand with fingers sharp as scalpels.

The other professors were wondering why Dumbledore was smiling even more than usually. Then they decided that they didn't want to know.

And Kal… lets just say that his stomach didn't bother him for a couple of months.

* * *

Aaaand that's it! For some reason I'm tempted to turn this into a fic but if you know me then... not that good idea. but if someone is interested in doing this with me or spurring from this then be my guest, just let me know before you do.

Now darlings, REVIEW! I will be happy if you do.


	2. Interlude no 1

You won. This baby turns into a story. Check the end for a question before you leave and enjoy.

There will be some interludes between the actual chapters which may or may not have anything to do with the plot. they give some insight on the characters and solve the past a little. at least in this case. It's an important question in the end, I need help guys. :)

* * *

After meeting Dumbledore, he has been keeping tabs about the happenings in the wizard world. Sometimes he laughs behind his metaphorical beard at the sometimes silly antics the wizards develop. He finds them sometimes amusing but mostly near-sighted. He doesn't know why he thinks so.

Because his meaning in life had mostly been fulfilled, he sometimes watched other people going on with their owns. So far, it had been very entertaining.

No, it's not stalking. He's not obsessed with the people he occasionally oversees. Although there were times when he had intentionally made the target feel uncomfortable. But only the annoying people.

He liked to think himself as an overseeing, supernatural entity. After all, he's the God's clown and no one could tell him what to do. That part of his long life was over.

And clowns were supposed to disobedient. It's a fact of life. Or unlife. Or whatever.

He's been following a drug dealer lately and managed to make said dealer overly paranoid. His intentional mistakes had made the stray cats run around in the guy's feet and various trashcans fall over an appropriate distance away. And lets not forget the many flower pots that had fallen _right behind _the guy, grazing the back of his head.

He quit drug dealing quite fast.

And the supernatural entity that was, in the distant past, known as Allen Walker, congratulated himself of a good days job.

(Please, he went by Kal these days. Or any other name you liked.)

He was starting to contemplate the next step of existing when he felt his eye activate and locate three level twos. Not too far away. He gravitated himself towards them.

The he stopped. Inside him, in the small part that was no longer human but something darker, he felt slight pulling.

_Innocence. _

There weren't just akumas there.

There were humans too. Exorcists. He couldn't risk going anywhere near them. The possibility of being sensed and identified was too large.

He liked his freedom way too much to allow that.

After the Earls death, only about five innocence were left in this world. An insurance. Of course, his innocence wasn't counted in. They didn't know he was still alive. Or dead. Or in-between.

At the moment he was in America and was leaning towards returning to Britain.

He was also leaning towards a drink. That decided, he took the longer route.

He hadn't visited Asia for a while and was missing something, mainly the more shady bars where no one looked at him strangely and where he could play poker all night long.

The tobacco smoke would remind him of a certain half-masked redhead and a revolver. It would remind him of a dark-skinned man with golden eyes… and butterflies.

He didn't know if it made sense. Those two had used different brands. He had liked Tyki's better. It had been more softer than Cross'. The whole man had been smoother than Cross.

He was being partial again. It no longer mattered who had been what.

They were gone now. Every one of them.

But he wasn't and he didn't know whether he should smile or cry.

So he settled to stalk- excuse me, _overseeing._

He wondered what they would say now, if they'd see him. He knows he's better off not knowing and stops wondering.

He walks to west and tries to remember the best way to cross the Pacific Ocean.

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Okay that was was stupid. I admit that these are mostly written when I have no idea what to write. This was written mainly to ask a question: **During what book do you want this?** I'm leaning towards PoA, just because it's completely underused in xovers. Tell me darlings!


	3. Chapter 3 That's insane!

I'm not going to say anything. The OotP part starts at some point.  


* * *

Harry's summer so far had been full of ignoring and occasional less than savoury happenings. One of them being the phone call he'd received from Ron. The other being the infernal monster of a book he'd gotten from Hagrid.

The third… being Aunt Marge.

Tomorrow would be the final evening of Marge's visit and Harry was anxious to get it over with. The growing twitching in his limbs was urging him to strangle something, namely the people he presently lived with. Or jinx them into mindless zombies. Or something. He was happy that there weren't any meddlesome house elves. He had enough messy memories.

He went down for dinner, missing Hedwig dearly.

He failed to notice a white ghost looking inside through his window.

"Absolutely no instincts. Makes me feel sorry for the wizarding world."

The next evening, after Harry had gotten himself safely into the Knight Buss, Kal wondered if the not-so-much-of-a-dog had noticed him lurking behind the corner of one of the houses. Then he decided that it didn't matter and rose to the sky to prevent Marge from floating too far.

The screeching made him wish he'd just let her float away but he'd started tying the rope to the goddamn clock tower so he was going to finish it. Even at the price of his almost indestructible eardrums.

X

The train would arrive in thirty minutes and Kal was still there, absently patting the thestrals. He had a distinct feeling that they didn't like him that much. Weren't they supposed to be some kind of avatars of death?

Then again, maybe he himself could be considered as an avatar of death. He has certainly laid enough destruction to merit that.

His gloved hand suddenly meets air when the thestral moves away from his vicinity. He can't hold it against the poor thing. Kal had no suspicion that he probably smelled of death and destruction. And lies, don't forget the lies.

He hears the grass rustle when Hagrid arrives to fetch the animals to once again pull the carriages. He knows that some of the students can see the thestrals and he supposes that he should feel sorry but he just can't do it. If you would've asked him a century ago he would've offered comforting words and fully showed his compassion.

But such things no longer matter to him. It might be that he has forgotten a lot about human interaction.

Long time periods alone tended to do that to humans.

Kal fades away before Hagrid catches him terrorizing his little darlings.

X

Kal heard that there was a convict on the loose and said convict is after "the Saviour." When the train comes he can sense the coldness left behind by the terrible things called dementors. He can see all the students are afraid of them. And they probably should, he muses with an amused smile. He'd heard from somewhere (why can't he _remember?_) that they could take away your soul. With a kiss.

There's some definitely dark irony in that. But if he's completely honest with himself, they aren't really that scary.

Because they are soulless. So it makes sense that they would want to take souls from others. Because of that, they don't feel.

Akumas had souls and they could feel every kill they made. That was a lot more terrifying.

Or then he was just bipolar. But still.

He notices a tired looking man exiting the train and sees something else entirely.

Kal dismisses it as life.

X

There's an uproar in the castle and Kal can hear it all the way to the Forest. He saw something disappearing beneath that psychotic tree he'd acquainted himself with a few weeks earlier. He wonders what happened when he sees Dumbledore come out and talk to the dementors.

"Sirius Black…… sliced….. searching…. no sight of him…" He strains his ears but manages to catch only small pieces of the strange conversation Albus is having with the dementor in front of him. But those small pieces are enough for him to determine what happened. He doesn't even consider telling Albus about what he just saw. It would be interfering.

He realizes that his clothes are frozen to the tree branch he's sitting on, high above the ground. It means that his success in avoiding the "guards" just ended and he'd have to explain himself. Come to think of it, he can feel the coldness somewhere in the edges of his mind.

What a bother.

He sees them all around him, ready to attack. He can sense how confused they are when their abilities have no effect on him.

"I'd like to talk first." Kal says, smirking in a very disturbing way. The dementors hesitate and one of them floats forward and gestures in a questioning way. _Why are you here?_

"That is my business but I assure you I won't get in your way." They don't like his answer and he feels that they are asking him to justify his entire existence. Well, if they insist.

"I'm an overseer of sorts; I wish that my presence would stay unknown." It's clear that he won't elaborate. The dementors understand that he is not someone they'd like to go against.

They leave and Kal is left to try and persuade a strange stick-like animal to come out from the folds of his cloak, where it escaped the dementors to.

He failed miserably.

X

There's some kind of a sports match going on. It's played on broomsticks, too. He wonders why the hell are they playing in a weather like this. It's a fucking storm out there. Shouldn't these people have some common sense?

Oh well, some entertainment for him if nothing else. Something always happened while storming. It was a law of life. Okay, more like literature but who cares.

He's perched inside one of the towers, hidden from view, when a lonely snowflake lands near him. The feeling is there again. Kal is smiling.

"Since when did I turn into a sadist?" He murmured to the stick-like creature sitting on his shoulder. It stares him for a moment and returns its attention to the game. Kal chuckles and does the same. But in his head he's wondering if he should name the thing "Kanda".

Those two seem to share some characteristics. Like being overly uptight. And having, pardon the expression, a _stick _up their asses. Why the hell is the thing still there, anyway. Isn't it some kind of a tree-hugger? Kal wasn't a tree, as long as he knew.

Whatever. There's somebody falling from the sky and Kal is reminded of a time long gone. But this is someone he doesn't know or particularly want to either. The match stops soon after.

The people have already gone inside the castle but Kal still stays under the protection of the tower. The water droplets create music unmatched by anything human-made when he surveys the rain gray landscape.

Christmas is coming. Kal thinks that he should probably get new gloves. The ones he's wearing are almost in shreds now, mainly because of the bothersome pointy knuckles of his left hand.

Tip. Tip.

The roof is leaking. Kal runs_floats_teleports under the almost fallen leaves.

X

Albus is feeling very foreboding. It's not a threatening feeling as one would expect. As he walks back from the Christmas breakfast he feels that he should order some food to his office.

So he calmly calls upon a house-elf and requests a tray full of food to be brought to the office later on. He steps inside and sees nothing. The feeling hasn't disappeared and the door closes in an almost ominous click.

"You don't have to be so tense, you know." The amused voice of Kal rings out. Albus suppressed the desire to jump.

"Don't do that to an old man, it's not healthy." Albus said smiling widely. Kal's eye sparkled in mirth.

"Oh don't say it like that. I once heard from somewhere that age is in your head only. You just need to keep it there."

"So that's why you look so young. Do tell me how it's done."

Kal looked him critically. "I think it's late now. What's your opinion, Kanda?" The figure untangled itself from Kal's scarf. Albus surveyed it curiously. Why had it left its tree?

"A bowtruckle."

"A what?" An incredulous eye was directed at him.

"A bowtruckle. They are magical animals that live mostly in wand trees, protecting it from intruders. It's unusual for them to show themselves to humans and to actually attach itself to you…"

"I figured it was some kind of a tree hugger but that it lives for them? I fail to see the point. Well anyway, those dementors finally became aware of me and since I was conveniently sitting on a tree branch it probably slipped under my cloak. Those dementors are rather cold, don't you think?" He was clearly smiling at some untold joke.

".." Albus wasn't sure what he should think. Had Kal seen something? The spell was broken by a loud crack when the house elf arrived.

Kal clapped his hands like a child and dug into the food. It was the first time Albus witnessed the feat and was already feeling slightly ill. Who was capable of inhaling food? It looked rather macabre. He glances the portraits that are were snickering at his expression. For some reason he wanted to stick out his tongue.

"So, what's happening in here?" This time Albus really jumped. He hadn't even noticed that Kal had finished the mountain of food. He saw something strange in Kal's eye.

"You know already, don't you?" The feeling of sheer wrong intensified.

"Perhaps I do but nothing specific." There was definitely a smirk in his voice. Realization dawned to Albus.

Kal was someone who didn't have any obligations to anyone. No matter what, he would always stay in the sidelines, watching and waiting for something. Even if he had seen something important, no one would know.

Kal seemed fully aware of his moment of insight and was clearly holding back laughter. It seemed that even the bowtruckle was amused. He sighed.

"Oh since it's no use… Where have you been?"

"Around. I do all kind of stuff when I go around the world."

"Why?" Albus raised a white eyebrow.

Kal blinked. The uncovered eye seemed go dull for a moment. "I… I don't know. I have nothing else to do, really."

The ensuing silence was interrupted by the door being knocked. Albus opened his mouth to invite his guest in but stopped himself to see if Kal wanted to hide.

But there was no one on the chair.

Albus let Minerva in. She told him about a broomstick that Harry had received as a gift. Albus gave her full power over the matter. Before she left, she stopped and sniffed the air.

"Are you making overly sweet tea, Albus?"

Albus couldn't help it. He smiled mysteriously. "Perhaps I am." Minerva blinked and left to confiscate a certain broomstick.

Albus, in fact, found a cup of excellently made tea from the table of his private quarters but Kal was nowhere to be seen.

X

'This is, to use Kanda's wording, fucked up.' Was Kals thought when he saw Hermione and Harry double.

Man he was thankful that they (neither version) could see him. These tree hiding ones looked slightly more tired and ragged so he presumed there was something time related stuff going on.

He was no stranger to that since the Ark had been rather versatile in time turning as well but it never ceased to amaze him how weird it looked from a side perspective.

Hours later some kind of a man-wolf ran in to the forest. It had blood all over it and was clearly frenzied. Kal presumed that it would run quite deep into the forest and ignored it.

But he hadn't counted on that it would find him to be a nice prey.

Well fuck.

* * *

Still not saying anything. Perhaps I should disclaim. Me does not own. I think that the title if this site tells you that.

But please, do review.


	4. You know? Let's continue the chase

I know, I know...... There you have OK?

Thanks for your generous reviews. Happy New Year.  


* * *

To say that Kal was frustrated would be an understatement. The feeling felt foreign after a century of self-imposed muteness in the emotional department. But to say that he didn't enjoy himself at the moment would be a huge lie. It was about time something challenged him.

It had been two hours and the damn werewolf had yet to tire. You'd think that it would've gotten bored chasing something that it, quite simply, couldn't catch but no.

It was still there right under the tree he'd taken residence in for the moment. The moon didn't seem to be covering up any time soon and Kal wished for miracles. More like ideas, though. Miracles weren't really his thing.

But something that would keep the werewolf fed for the night wouldn't be bad. Not at all.

Somewhere he heard a twig snap and was instantly alert. The werewolf tensed as well. Kal masked his presence even more and waited. The ground tumbled slightly and the werewolf seemed to remember something. Had it faced these things, whatever they were, before?

The ground shook when the centaurs rushed towards the werewolf, efficiently surrounded it and forced it into a small clearing, under the moonlight.

Bane, acting as a temporary leader, waved his bow.

"We have agreed on your presence out of necessity but this is going too far. You are too close to our plains and you will be driven away."

Predictably the werewolf didn't answer, instead it continued twitching and staring the tree Kal was perched on. When this behaviour continued the centaurs got suspicious and a couple went to try if there was anything on the tree the damn thing was looking at.

No matter what they did, they got nothing. During this time the werewolf got anxious and violent. When it refused to calm down bows were readied. It got even more nervous and finally snapped.

It attacked and the centaurs fired. For a moment Lupin regained himself and froze. Then there was white.

The arrows cluttered to the ground uselessly and the centaurs were amazed that a human could do something like that.

"I have a feeling you are barking at the wrong tree, dear gentlemen. It is purely my fault we got so close to your plains." It was small and gentle-looking human. They could only see one eye but everything else was pretty covered up by clothes.

"And why is that?" Bane challenged the stranger. He was nailed by a powerful one eyed gaze.

"I didn't move fast enough to avoid detection by him so I'll have to take this merry chase to the end. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a werewolf to take care of."

Bane felt a lot better when this human wasn't looking at him. "Quiet you human-"

"Calm yourself Bane," the voice of Firenze stated. "Look up."

And he did. There was a star twinkling. He understood.

_This one could not affect much, only in the slightest ways, to the course of history. Just a remnant of something long gone. The younger ones had taken the stage, a different setting to a different battle but the basics still remained. Two sides and one war, another hero to oppose another villain, just the way it always was_. _Still, the line between the two sides remained ever vague._

They allowed him to leave, carrying the werewolf on his shoulder.

It was after five hours that Lupin woke up. Usually when he woke up after a full moon, he would be somewhere in the Dark Forest, not too far away from Hogwarts.

Not much had changed this time. He was still in the Dark Forest but instead of seeing some random tree roots and leaves, he was seeing tree trunks and branches. When he completely realized that he wasn't exactly on the ground at the moment, he panicked. The movement caused him to lose balance and he started falling. He didn't get far when a hand grabbed his arm.

He looked up into the smiling face of Kal. His mind blanked out for a while and during this time, Kal hoisted him back to the surprisingly comfortable tree branch. He also realized he was really cold. Made sense, really. His changing had been in a very unfavourable situation to salvage clothes.

When he had established his own situation he turned attention outwards to the things around him. The sun was rising and the colours it made around them looked incredible. Lupin understood that this was probably the best place for watching the sunrise. His musings were interrupted.

"Good morning." Lupin blinked and said the same to his silent companion.

"Are you cold? I believe it is not a very warm morning."

"A little." Lupin found that he seemed to have lost all his conversational abilities in the face of this morning. He hadn't noticed his own shivering before he was covered with a rust-coloured cloak. It was surprisingly warm. He felt it move around him on its own accord and soon found himself a face-full of a bowtruckle. Before he even had time to react to the eyeball harming creature it was picked away by his host.

"Damn I forgot that Kanda was still hiding in the folds, sorry for that. Are you better now?"

"Yeah, I think so." Lupin took in the appearance of his host, who had a bowtruckle (that was apparently called Kanda) climbing around his head, using a cap and various bandages as a support.

"Not so much of a talker, huh?" Silence answered Kal. "Well let's start with the basics. I'm called Kal. What's your name?" He held out a hand.

Lupin's brain was quite recovered from the absurd surroundings and he was able to take the hand and introduce himself. "My name is Remus Lupin."

Kal was smiling in that infectious way and soon they were laughing at nothing particular. Lupin thought it felt good.

"Now the next step, I believe, is to get down. How would you suggest we do that?"

Lupin seemed to ponder the same, if the greenness in his face was anything to go by. "How did we get up here, anyway?" He weakly asked. Kal only smiled at him in a way that suggested he didn't want to know. Lupin decided to shut up.

One could argue that it was a very unwise thing to do when the next action that Kal took was to shove him away from the branch. Lupin opted to close his eyes in the face of imminent death.

Though it didn't happen and when he opened his eyes, he was standing on the ground. He looked up and saw that it had been quite a long way. Kal was there like nothing happened.

"Shall we head to the castle?" Lupin nodded and they were on their way.

The forest smelt wonderful to his wolf senses and he took full advantage of the things his other side could offer amidst all the pain and suffering it caused him. This didn't go unnoticed by Kal and he too enjoyed the morning.

The edge of the forest was nearing and the grass they could see between the trees had gained a golden edge. The forest awoke from its slumber and the sounds filled the air.

The silence they had shared had been comfortable but it was soon broken by the heavy steps of Hagrid.

Lupin was startled to find Kal's face so close to his own. A whisper.

"Put it into your windowsill." Then Lupin had to turn to answer Hagrid's greeting and Kal wasn't there.

Later when Lupin was packing away his things he came across the cloak. He was deep in his thoughts when Harry walked in and tried to persuade him to stay. Of course he failed and when Dumbledore came to tell him about his carriage he left the cloak, nicely folded, on the windowsill and left. He could've sworn Dumbledore's eyes twinkled more than usual, the smile a little wider. He left.

Harry noticed the cloak and was about to shout after Lupin to tell him about it when Dumbledore stopped him. Dumbledore noted how unhappy he seemed. In the middle of telling the Headmaster about the prophecy, Harry suddenly felt a cool breeze in the room. Harry clearly remembered the window to be closed but when he turned it was open and the folded piece of fabric was gone. He opened his mouth to ask but was directed back to the prophecy by Dumbledore. Harry felt vaguely cheated after Dumbledore was gone.

But he did close the window.

XxXxXxXxXxxXxXxXxxXXxXxXXXxXXxxxXXxxXXxXxXxXx Timeskip to OotP XxXxXxXx

Albus eyed the various letters cluttered on his table. There was one from the ministry, undoubtedly about Dolores Umbridge and her position, some random ones and a letter that caught his attention. Unlike the others, this one was made of industrial paper and the address wasn't handwritten. But it did have a seal on it. Intricate cross and the roman number 13. **(A/N: Totally stole this from Hellsing, sorry.)** He opened it.

_To: Albus Dumledore_

_From: Vatican sec. XIII_

_Subject:_ _Situation at hand_

_Dear Headmaster Dumbledore,_

_It has come to our attention, after monitoring the magical world, that there are speculations about the Dark Lord to have risen again. In the light of this threat and our mission, we suggest cooperation. We are aware that wizards have no means of fighting against the enemies we have fought against since times long gone. Even though this enemy is almost defeated, the remains are still in existence and we are afraid that the Dark Lord, if he indeed has risen again, will make usage of these enemies. _

_Our suggestion is the following: three of our soldiers of appropriate ages will enter the school as students. Also one of our Generals will patrol outside the school premises. He can be ignored as he works exclusively for us. The undercover soldiers will have orders to adjust their strategies around the situation inside the school. _

_We are requesting cooperation on the basis of the belief that You are more trustworthy than the Ministry of Magic. It should be considered as an honour._

_Contact us with your decision about the matter. The necessary documents are attached to this letter. _

_With best wishes, _

_Calvin S. Windell, Supervisor._

Albus sighed and wished for the oncoming headache to be over already.

* * *

I had a headache over that letter.... See ya.


	5. Why so serious?

Personally, I think this chapter kinda sucks.... If anyone has any suggestions, do share them with me. :)  


* * *

When the three exorcists were called in, they had been eating. They were a tight-knitted bunch although two had major temper issues. Understandably, they were teenagers after all. To them, being an exorcist was a side job; they all had families and went to school like normal people.

All of this was possible with communication technology, transportation means and the simple fact that akumas weren't really a threat anymore. There was no evil mind behind their actions, only their program, which was starting to lose effectiveness.

But they still reported frequently to the base, either personally or by some form of visual communication. Traditions were held high in an organisation like this. Though the uniform was a lot less flashy.

They waved their hello's to the surrounding staff members when they walked into the administration wing. They calmly loitered themselves into the paper chaos that was their superior's office. In said superior's words, it was homage to someone.

How a paper chaos was homage to anything, much less to anyone was never explained.

They manoeuvred themselves into the wooden chairs next to the table and waited.

A bookshelf slid open and a tall man by the name of Calvin S. Windell leisurely walked in. He eyed them for a moment, like he always did and sat down behind the desk. His stare had not wavered but when he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk, tapping his fingers together in a way mostly found in villainy movies the exorcists snapped.

"The hell do you want!?" The hot-tempered Carrie demanded. She was not alone with this statement as the other two looked ready to do some bodily harm. Damn they hated when Calvin got like this.

The villain atmosphere disappeared and Calvin smiled like no tomorrow. "Now, now, calm down. Temper should be reined, not flared." He received dubious stares and sweatdropped.

"Well anyway. I trust you all remember the pre warned mission to a magic school?" They nodded.

"Excellent. We have received confirmation from the headmaster and you will be sent there soon to get familiar with the grounds. You will be acting as visitor students that are familiarizing with their educational program. You'll be attending their classes but you won't be evaluated like the rest of them. But you'll so homework. The rest is in the database with code 'fel0ny78'. Off you go."

Calvin was smiling innocently again and the exorcists found themselves unable to spend any more time with the infuriating man. They slouched away in a typical teenage-angst fashion.

By the time they had printed out all the necessary stuff (most of it was senseless rambling by Calvin about things one could figure out with elementary logic) it was well into evening but Carrie had forced them to stay behind in the library and plan. To be completely honest, in a mission like this, plans were rather useless but Carrie being herself loved them to death. The two boys, Gary and Nick, always humoured her.

(This, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that she happened to have a mean right hook and the temper to use it.)

They had been amazed by the planned length of the mission. It was planned to last at least six months, which was a lot by their standards.

Needless to say, Kal would've laughed himself to death, had he heard that.

But to everyone there was one thing in the mission that bothered them immensely. It was Nick that voiced their collective worry.

"So why in the name of marshmallows (with top hats and disturbing umbrellas) do we have to do homework, anyway?"

X

The hidden historians say that the ark had been destroyed. In reality, they just couldn't find it. Kal occasionally opens a door to thin air and steps in to his kingdom. He watches the white houses and listens to the silence that envelops him.

Here he is Allen Walker. Here he is the 14th. No one can lie in front of the Ark.

It's terrifying, he sometimes thinks, how much power he holds in his hands. The Ark was something outside of the realms of men. Literally, he has power over dimensions. When there are things he can't know by stalk-… observing, he uses the Ark.

In times like this, Allen acknowledges himself to be almost a stalker. He just avoids thinking about it.

Usually, though, he uses the Ark to observe the Vatican. He sees their schemes and lies. He sees their honesty. Not much has changed. He looks at the man, Calvin, after the exorcists are sent away. Was this what Komui could have been? Without the sis-complex, of course. Allen's right eye flashes gold momentarily and he smothers the thought. It's gone now, he tells himself.

It's all gone now.

X

Albus was contemplating about how to break the news about these exorcists to his staff when the floor of his office turns white. His wand whips out and a spell is on his lips before he fully comprehends what happened. Kal is standing there, nondescript as ever. Albus sits down _(when did he rise) _and offers a tight smile. Kal loosens the fabrics from his face and smiles back.

"So. What's got you all riled up?" Kal questioned cheerfully. Albus raised a brow to the rather modern way of speaking but let it pass.

"I'm sure you know already. You seem to have that kind of abilities." Albus didn't bother hiding the slight accusation in his tone. Kal took no offence.

"Just wondered if you wanted to talk about it. I already know their side of it. But really, was it a wise decision to let them come here?" He tilted his head to the left.

Albus gave a long sigh. "I don't know. I'm not sure what to make of these people. Their… loyalty is questionable."

"That's not really the issue here, is it? You know they are loyal to their organization, which in turn, is loyal to you. For the moment, at least. You are more worried that your secrets will come out." Kal accused him lightly. Albus silently berated himself for dishonesty towards one's self.

"But don't worry about that. I've seen some parts of their handbook and though the part about confidentiality is a real tongue-twister, it still says to keep your mouth shut. I'm sure if you don't want to have them write something to their report they'll be more than happy to let it out. Just ask them." Kal practically oozed 'relaxing' from the armchair he was seated in. "Today's youth is like that." He added.

"How do you know all this? I understood you don't associate yourself with them." Had he understood wrong?

"No panic. I am in no way associated with them. All my knowledge comes from…observations." Kal knew he was being more vague than anything else but he had his limits what to tell to information hungry wizards. Inwardly he shuddered at all the possibilities.

A moment of silence reigned.

"What am I going to say to my staff? They'll have trouble believing me. So will the students."

"I don't know about the students but you should tell the staff the truth. They know that the Voldy guy is back, right? So they need to know what he can now do. So will that saviour of yours too. What was his name again?" Albus could feel the teasing edge in Kal's tone and refused to dignify the jibe with an answer. Instead he got a bright idea.

Kal must have seen it in his eyes because he glanced towards the door with hope in his eyes. No such luck though.

"Would you like to teach in here?" Albus didn't really have any faith in his elderly, senile smile against someone who was older than he was but he was damn well going to try. Kal seemed to share his sentiments, for he blinked a couple times and pulled a blinding smile out of thin air. It was rather creepy.

"I believe that my qualifications don't really match. What would I even teach here?"

"I was thinking something along the lines of a special self defence course. Without wands, of course."

They smiled for a while for no apparent reason for the next two minutes. Kal, having had no practice for nearly a century gave up first.

"I'll think about it. It seems, though, that I must leave your company for now." He smiled in defeat and was gone in a similar flash of light as the one he'd arrived in. Albus decided he'd won this one. It still worried him, though, how Kal could travel so effortlessly to Hogwarts and out when it wasn't supposed to be possible. He suspected there would be no answer. He settled for a couple lemon drops.

X

Harry stood in front of the disciplinary committee, feeling rather horrified. He was supposed to sit on the nightmare chair from Dumbledore's memories and listen them hound him for something that wasn't his fault with no defendant and no witnesses. It didn't help that the feeling of being watched constantly had increased exponentially. He was quite sure it had nothing to do with all the people that were watching him now from the shadowed benches. Or then he was losing his mind.

When Dumbledore walked in his shoulders almost sagged from relief. But they tensed again when Dumbledore didn't do as much as spare a glance at him, continuing the strange atmosphere that had hung between them the entire summer.

Harry felt quite insulted when Dumbledore stormed out without any indication of knowing him. He returned to Grimmauld's Place in a rather dark mood.

* * *

*whines* I feel awkward....... I opened a profile on Deviantart. guess I'll be posting fiction and nature photos. I f anyone's interested, the name's Sneak-Sea.

And yes, that's an anagramm of seasnake.


	6. I know, really imaginative: Reklaw

*is majorly scared of the reception*

EH!!!!??? 100 reviews? You people..... are going to kill me sooner or later. For something along the lines of: not updating, not updating or.. not updating.

I'm patiently waiting for the rotten fruits for this one.

Some music:

Fact- A Fact Of Life (Boom Boom Satellites remix)

Porcelain and the Tramps- Redlight District

* * *

'Sometimes,' Albus mused,'you just cant get what you want. The same possibility applies to alarmingly many situations.'

Albus' thoughts had been running in circles for the last few hours and that had been the only deep thing he'd come up with. He was seriously out of practice. The students would be back tomorrow for yet another year of education. Speaking of which, there would be a serious lack of it this year, at least judging from the material Umbridge had submitted for him to "review". How pretentious.

Politics had come to Hogwarts along with a war that still remained unseen by most. He could taste the danger and sometimes wondered how so many people could miss the faint feeling of war. The kind of war that permeates itself into people's hearts. Unending fear.

There was a knock to his door. Albus tensed. He wasn't expecting anyone and there was no rumbling from the staircase. He called for the door to open.

In stepped a man wearing a muggle suit. Though said suit looked like to be from the wrong century and the tingling chain of a clock gave a very out of place impression even in the ancient castle. Albus disregarded the suit and looked at the man.

Nondescript was the word that echoes in Albus' head. The man had brown hair, light brown eyes and a slightly tanned skin. He had thickly-rimmed glasses that covered his eyes effectively. If he'd passed the man anywhere, no one would know who it was. He was someone who was never truly noticed. Part of the scenery. Absolutely nothing to remember if asked. Even his age could have been anything.

So ordinary it hurt.

His expression was politely expecting but as Albus showed no signs of recuperating from the shock, he smiled a mischievous smile. Then took off his glasses. Albus started to show some signs of life at that.

"K-K-Kal? Is that you?" Albus was aware that he hadn't stuttered in years but it certainly didn't stop him now.

Kal took a step back and bowed like a knight to a king. Then he whirled around a few rounds. "Well, how do I look? It might have gone a little overboard with the colour choices…."

Albus opened his mouth and closed it then, not unlike a fish. Kal pouted. "I'm too brown, aren't I? Another hair colour would've been better, right? Black or blond or chocolate brown instead of this sand stuff…"

Albus gained control of his voice muscles. "It's good. Very nondescript." Kal raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe a little overboard but in Hogwarts, it's fine. We can even have you your own eccentrically decorated classroom." Albus knew he sounded slightly hysterical. He was so used to seeing Kal looking almost otherworldly, that seeing him looking so normal was a shock. Even though they hadn't met that many times.

"So I presume you're taking my offer?" Albus tilted his head.

Kal gave a theatrical, resigned sigh. "I guess I am. Man has to eat in this world too." He wiped imaginary tears from his eyes. The shudder running through the paintings went unnoticed.

XXXXXXXX

Dolores Umbridge was no means a stupid woman. So when the Headmaster in formed her about the new teacher and subject, she concluded this to be an elaborate plot to undermine her intentions in the school. It was no wonder that she objected the new course immediately.

"I believe this course to be unnecessary. Why, by Merlin's, should these children be taught this… Muggle styled self defence?"

"Surely you understand that Muggles have a considerably less sophisticated way of solving minor arguments. We as Wizards cannot understand it unless we experience it. I just wish to offer the children, especially the Muggle studies students, a chance to know how it's done."

"By causing these innocent children injuries and bruises during a _harmless_ little training course?" Her voice had a definite childish tone now.

"It shall also entail a more in-depth section on Muggle manners and phrases. I believe it would serve well our other students too."

Dumbledore was looking like the senile man he was, Dolores regarded disdainfully. That smile was going to get him killed some day. Perhaps better that way.

"He will be evaluated like the others by Ministry's standards. I hope you remind the teacher that there is no need for any excessive… violence." The toad smile was back.

"Of course I will. You'll have a chance to meet him most likely today. He is a charming fellow. Now if you'll excuse me…" He dismissed Umbridge. She narrowed her eyes at him and left with a swish of her pink robes.

XXXX

There are weird people in the train platform. That was the first thing Harry noticed when he scanned the place with his eyes. They weren't first graders but hadn't been there earlier either, of that Harry was reasonably sure. There was a girl and two boys and they were standing close together and it seemed like they were having a heated conversation about something. They seemed to come to some kind of a truce and loaded in the train in a rather efficient looking manner. Harry also noticed that there had been no one with them, or then they'd already left.

He met Malfoy's eyes and felt cold when Malfoy smirked at Sirius. He threw a look at Lupin but found him staring at the door where the mysterious trio had gone through. He looked troubled.

Harry decidedly forgot about everything and concentrated on the train journey.

XXXX

If you didn't count the weird snaky horses in front of the carriages, Harry thought that the evening hadn't gone to hell yet. When the trio surveyed the teachers table looking for Hagrid, they noticed not only Umbridge but also another addition to their merry band. They couldn't see him well but he seemed extremely brown. Hermione looked him long and didn't say anything when Ron asked her about it.

Harry noticed the strange people again and mentioned it to Hermione. She observed them for a minute and was then forced to avert her eyes when they caught her. The blonde girl smirked at their direction and returned to watch the sorting with the kind of amused expression that just screamed: the hell are these guys doing?

When they were the only ones left in front of the hall, Dumbledore rose from his seat. He smiled and began.

"As I'm sure you've all noticed we have three guests here among us. They are exchange students from The Arkangel School. The program of Arkangel is largely different from ours and I wish that we could take some time to learn about our guests as they return the favour by joining us for this year. They will be sorted like usual and I hope that the Houses will treat them like their own. Thank you."

The students clapped and McGonagall called three names: Carrie Heller, Nick Jackson and Gary Kinneas. Unsurprisingly they all went to Gryffindor. Before they even sat down, Dumbledore was calling for everyone's attention away from them and allowed them to eat.

The food, as always, overcame their expectations and by dessert, Harry and co. had almost forgotten about their new additions. Dumbledore had risen again and silence fell. He started with the usual notices and concerns. Then he mentioned the teachers. Harry's attention wandered momentarily to the strangers who were watching Dumbledore with rapt attention and asserting gazes. Harry looked away.

"… in addition to Prof. Umbridge, we also have another new face in our staff. In this year, we will be offering a new evening course for all of you. It's mandatory to Muggle Studies students but I would advise our other students to take part. It entails a more in-depth look at Muggle manners and behaviour. Also, it offers you something useful to apply if using a wand is an unwise action. The course is taught by Prof. Reklaw whom I wish very welcome to Hogwarts and I hope you enjoy your stay." The students clapped with slightly puzzled expressions, the Slytherins barely doing anything to add to the noise.

"The tests for Quidditch teams will be held-"

"_Ahem"_

XXXXX

"That Reklaw guy isn't mentioned in our files." Nick, the closet-geek, pointed out. "Should we keep an eye on him?"

"Nah, let's just scan him and if nothing turns out, ignore him. This mission is already sucking majorly." Gary drawled, "we have to keep it on the background and see how this goes."

Carrie had an unholy smirk. "And that means you don't flirt, Gary." The answer was a terrified squeal.

"But flirting is like breathing to me! Stopping flirting is like suicide. Look at all these girls…."

Carrie and Nick left him at that and listened Umbridge's speech with half an ear. Afterwards they wandered with the other gryffindors to the tower. They pretty much spent the rest of the evening dodging unnecessary questions.

XXX

The castle had gone quiet. Faint sounds were coming from the sleeping paintings as Kal walked the corridors to nowhere. The Hogwarts castle was truly a magnificent place. The ever-changing layout whispered to him about the old magic that had been laid in the foundation stone itself. He didn't need light for something as trivial as walking around; instead he nearly joined the ranks of the ghosts that crept soundlessly on the stone floor.

(He could look back at the many times he'd gotten lost in places like this and laugh, because when there was no point of origin, there was only _this moment_ and you always knew where you are in this moment. His ending was in the Ark and the Ark was _everywhere_.

He'd only gotten lost because he'd been so worried about getting lost. But nowadays he couldn't even call himself lost because the Ark changed perceptions like that. In this world you can always say you're somewhere but in the _Ark_ _you couldn't even say that_.)

It had taken a while to create the disguise he now wore like a skin. He had loaned the idea from the first level 2 he'd faced. Paper skin, that had to be shed at night and recreated every morning like the skin of a fast-growing snake. He was catching up to his master's magic abilities.

His thoughts were interrupted by sneaking footsteps from an adjoining corridor. They were the heavy steps of an adult. Kal stood and waited.

XXXXX

If there was something that Severus hated and loved at the same time, it was night-time duty. On the other hand he could bust foolish students and get them do various unpleasant tasks but you also had to sacrifice precious sleep just for those thankless brats. Plus side, the mindless walking always helped to clear his head.

Severus spared a thought to the new teacher. He wasn't aware what this new course was even about but it didn't stop him from finding the man suspicious. Severus was too well versed in deception and concealment to buy the man's looks outright. He just screamed 'not suspicious'. In Severus' mind, that was a reason enough. There was shuffling from the next corridor and Severus was there in a flash looking like the bat he was.

Speak of the devil. There he was, in all his inconspicuousness, professor Reklaw. The man was smiling like no worries in the world.

"I believe this night is my corridor watch, professor Reklaw." Snape didn't know why he used such a cold tone, something in this man inspired his most basic defences. He also had the strangest feeling that his confusion showed clearly. At least, that was the thing Reklaw reacted to.

"Ah, forgive me, professor Snape. Sleep decided to do like it usually does, elude me. This is a beautiful castle and I decided to take the chance to explore a little without the distraction of the crowds." A reasonable explanation, like Severus expected, delivered with a calming smile. This man caused cold shivers down his spine with just his _voice_.

Snape nodded curtly and left with quick steps. The _Lumos_ faded behind the corner.

In the absence of light Allen Walker's smile was a little bit too wide, bit too thin to be human.

* * *

Still waiting for the fruits. I intend to make a little side story/oneshot about that first meeting of Allen and Umbridge but I'll post that on my deviantArt since I don't want to mess the continuum here. In there, I also ramble about my progress (or I try. I'm really bad at this blog thingy.)

Oh, nearly forgot. You might have notice how I change between the first name and the last. There is a sliver of logic there.... somewhere. If I ever get around writing about it, it's up there in dA.

Thank you for being patient. I'll go hide in my cave now.


	7. The normal life! It hurts!

Ok. Here's you next chapter. I'm getting the vibe that you people don't really like my schedule. I don't blame you, really. Fast updating was thanks to SoullessGhosty who whipped me like I were a dog… not really but almost. Thank you for doing it.

Sooooo…. enjoy.

(I have a feeling that there's a lack of disclaimers here.

Discl: There are rich people and then there are us poor authors. Just where do you think I'm posting this?????)

* * *

New school year started like every other. With breakfast. Harry had checked the notice board and had failed to find a notice about the special course Dumbledore had told them. He decidedly told himself that he wasn't interested. He had enough to do with Quidditch already.

As McGonagall gave the timetables nobody bothered to stifle their groans. The twins didn't even bother to cover their glee at their predicament. The worst teachers all lined up for one day. It would be hell.

"So what's so bad about this day?" Harry jumped a little when the voice of one of the new transfers sounded near his ear. He came face to face with a well build teen with a black hair much like his own. He was smirking like a seasoned flirt.

"Ah… that's because the subjects…. suck. For this day, I mean. First we have history which just puts you to sleep. Then we have….." Harry explained him. The boy, apparently named Gary, according to the other transfers, listened intently. Gary then thanked him and went to sit down with his friends.

Harry though, couldn't shake the strange feeling he'd gotten from their eyes that seemed to see too much.

He sneaked looks at them so much that Hermione noticed and joined him. On the 7th time they noticed the transfers had stopped talking with each other and now had their eyes fixed to the door with suspicious faces. They too looked and saw the new professor walk in. He had a scarf on his head, which kinda reminded Harry of Quirrel. Luckily it wasn't a turban or he would've been plain freaked.

As they watched him, he walked by the Ravenclaw table. His steps were economical and controlled, almost soundless. To Harry, he was like a statue, to the exorcists he walked like a soldier. But it made sense too, he was probably a martial artists.

Suddenly one of the Ravenclaws stopped him and asked something they couldn't hear. The professor had leaned down closer to the student. Supposedly of the course he was supposed to teach. He answered the girl with a shrug and a smile and straightened. But instead of moving, he nailed the transfers with a strangely expecting look, daring them to do something.

The suddenly out the blue he was looking at him and Hermione too and it was like the air was sizzling. Then it was gone and Reklaw nodded to them and smiled. Then he was gone. They were left in silence and Hermione looked like she was thinking furiously.

XX

A favourite thing of Kal's was definitely scaring people. Making them suspicious. If one was to ask, he'd still answer that no, he's totally not bored.

Right.

XX

There were a few weeks of relative quiet. That was if you didn't count the detentions, Quidditch drama and general mayhem with the twins. The homework wasn't helping at all. Umbridge and Malfoy either.

The only highlight had been Sirius. Though the following High-Inquisitor incident was just plain weird and suspicious.

Harry had somewhere in his mind promised to keep track of the transfers but there was something strangely elusive about them. He knew they went to the same classes and slept in the same house but they remained slippery.

Then one morning when Harry checked the notice board, he found the announcement about the new course.

_Announcement to all Muggle studies courses students!_

_The mandatory evening course consisting of culture and mannerisms studies_

_will begin this week on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in the Magical history classroom._

_First lesson must be attended so that the participants can be listed, you cannot enter halfway the course. This also applies to other students who wish to take part of the course…_

Harry read no more. The time was just perfect and he was waiting for the opportunity to do something he would be good at. Plus, he could now understand a little why Hermione had wanted to do Muggle studies. It could be quite interesting to do from the Wizard point of view. He stalked of to find his friends.

XX

The three strangers to the micro universe of Hogwarts looked at the above mentioned announcement. Carrie paced on her heels.

"Think we should go? Could be a good opportunity to scan Reklaw."

"Sounds good. Though the scanner might not give such good results. We might have to check it the old fashioned way." Nick scratched his jaw. "I've been working on it but all the magic that's nestling inside this place can't be good for the calibration…"

Gary grinned. "You're making it sound like bedroom talk." He said suggestively. They could swear those eyebrows were juggling.

"…"

Two pairs of eyes turned towards him looking slightly ill. He threw his hands up. "Just saying…"

The resulting sighs were identical. What was wrong with this guy?

XX

When Thursday came it was almost a relief. There were some of the students were clearly expecting the course but some were expecting the rarely seen professor Reklaw. There was clearly some hearts in the eyes of the girls. Harry was glad, since it made the attention to move from him to someone else for a change.

At 6 pm a group of students found themselves in the history classroom, the largest classroom that was in regular use. Some of the students had already spotted Harry and were whispering with each other. Harry was feeling sick again. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. He was making twitches towards the door when Hermione twisted an arm around his and the door opened. In stepped pure Brown.

Of course Harry realized it was not very nice to call someone that but the brownness of the scene made his twitches real and he wasn't the only one.

The professor was clearly amused at the display. Then he raised his right hand and traced something to the air. The chairs and tables piled themselves cleanly to the side.

'Not so brown after all, he had white gloves.' The thought was shared by pretty much everyone.

There was a moment of silence then suddenly Reklaw started talking in a voice that really didn't look like it fit to his looks. Harry was reminded of Umbridge and he rubbed his hand in remembrance.

"It looks like we have a nice group of people here gathered. I will later put a list on the door where all Muggle studies students can confirm their presence and our voluntary ones can sign their name up. As the notice boards stated, I can't take any students in the middle since this will be a bit of an intensive course. A small test will be kept in the end, nothing major, just to check how the information has sunk in to your head." He kept a small break and looked at them.

"All those who have no interest in this course can leave now, there's in no reason for me to teach people who are not here for the right reasons." His suddenly blank look seemed to stray towards the few girls who kept making dreamy eyes at him. He waited and after a while, the girls left. He nodded to them politely and waited for the door to close. Then he clapped his hands together (how they made such noise with gloves on was a mystery) and rubbed them together. The transfers were now getting flashbacks.

Reklaw snapped his fingers and from the pile of chairs flew one chair to everyone in a nice U-shape. He gestured them to it down. They did. He walked in to the middle.

"We are going to get started with manners. They don't differ much from Wizard manners in the sense of purpose but are, of course, performed differently. And since we are in the history classroom, we are going to start with exactly that. History." There were a few groans that made his smile almost evil. He raised a finger.

"That's not very fair towards Binns, you know? But worry not; I know his lessons can be slightly… tiring. But just between you and me, I might be able to make it more interesting than him. Maybe it's a… " his smile crooked a little "ghost thing." The smile was gone like never there.

"If you have any questions, just raise your hand. But back to manners, first up is handshake. Did you know that originally it was done in order to check for weapons in the dominant hand…."

The students found themselves listening avidly as Reklaw's voice carried them back to the middle ages. It was probably the most interesting history lesson ever.

XX

Umbridge was feeling quite giddy. She would be inspecting Reklaw's class in a few hours and would get back at him for some of the humiliation he'd put her through.

"_Professor Reklaw!" Umbridge called in the middle of the hallway. Some of the students glanced around for the man but scurried away when they saw Umbridge looking even more childish than usual. It was a bad sign when she called someone looking like that. _

_The man was now walking towards her. The nicknamed Mr. Brown was smiling slightly when he stopped and nodded to her slowly._

"_Yes, Dolores? Was there anything you'd like know?" Dolores narrowed her gaze. _

"_In fact there is. I've heard some rumours about your course. They say that some spells that belong to the DADA class have been used there. I'd like you to explain."_

"_Ah of course. Would you rather like that we would talk in a more private setting? We wouldn't want to give the children any ideas, now would we?" Somehow she felt like he was mocking her, big time. Always polite nearly to a fault, like he was laughing at her behind that face of his. It was infuriating._

"_Sure," she said,"how about my office, now? I believe you don't have any classes now."_

_He chuckled amicably. "Indeed I don't. Shall we?" She nodded and they were on their way to her office and home ground. On the way they passed Severus who watched them like a hawk looks at rotten meat. Bad but might still be eatable. It gave her the creeps when she wasn't exactly sure what he was watching at. Maybe he didn't like Reklaw either or there was something between them. She didn't know but hopefully would find out at some point. Severus would be a good one to have on her side. Man was a natural traitor, after all. _

_At her office she carefully observed his reaction to her preferred form of decorating. There was nothing in his face. She sat down and motioned him to do the same. He refused tea. Dolores decided to get into business. She wasn't very keen on spending time alone with this man. He was unnerving. _

"_So, are the rumours true? I might not see you as a very qualified teacher if you demonstrate something as dangerous as those spells are to young and impressionable children. I hope you know that this is a school, a safe place for the children to learn and grow." _

_She was quite sure that normal humans didn't have smiles like that. _

"_But surely you understand my intention. I was demonstrating the children what a wizard would do in certain situations. The purpose of the course is to teach them think a little more like a Muggle, not in order to make them one but to make the understand why Muggles behave in situations as they do. To lessen the conflicts between our worlds, you see." _

"_Do you think you can do my work better than me, mister Reklaw? Those are dangerous spells that most of them shouldn't yet be worrying about. Those spells are supposed to be taught in a better supervised situation."_

"_Do you believe that I can't keep control in a classroom? Besides, these kids are here to learn, not to overthrow teachers. I hardly think that showing them a few spells that most of them already know about, causes any trauma." _

"_I don't want these children to harm themselves. All offensive spells should be confined to the DADA class." A raised eyebrow was her answer. She didn't really know what to make of it. _

"_Excellent that you reminded me. Since this is such a great opportunity to ask… Just what is it that you actually do during those lessons of yours. I've heard that it is pure theory but surely that must be a myth." _

_Dolores bristled. _

"_I didn't know that you're an education expert. Are you trying to tell me what to do in my classes?" She stood up and tried to look intimidating. It was not easy with her frame. _

_He raised his hands a little, palms up. "No need to be so angry about it. I was merely asking. But I'm curious, since they practice spell in transfiguration and charms, why shouldn't they practice in DADA?"_

"_It is because those are potentially dangerous spells. If the children study theory carefully, they should be perfectly capable of performing the required spells in a supervised exam situation."_

"_How about real life, then?" He asked silently. "They practice for an exam and when they arrive, later in life, into a situation where a spell must be used they find themselves frozen because the surroundings aren't a supervised exam situation. And don't try to say that life after school isn't dangerous." His smile was showing teeth. "You'd be surprised how the most inconspicuous things can be surprisingly…deadly."_

"_Are you threatening me? This won't go unnoti-"She was interrupted by a knock on the door. The man across the table looked challengingly at her. She directed her attention to the door. "Yes?"_

_It opened to reveal Filch who had a student in his grasp. _

"_Ma'am? I found some lawbreakers and saw fit to ask for your opinion. They were carrying dangerous items in the hallway…"_

_Dolores had intended to tell Filch that she would take care of it after the meeting but when her eyes swiped to the chair, she realized there was no one there. She'd heard about these disappearing tricks only as rumours around the school, it was the first time she witnessed one herself. In her opinion, it just proved that there was something wrong with him. She was suddenly feeling like punishing students and was intending to when all her dried plants fell down and all her kitty plates all crumbled from her wall._

_She just knew it was all Reklaw's fault._

XXX

The memory gave her power as she marched towards. The parchment in her hands was wrinkled from her tight grip. She wanted that eerie man out of this school, along with creatures like that half-giant and clearly incompetent teachers like the divination teacher. To be honest, all overly old plotting people could go as well, in the same batch.

Before the term had even started, she'd already received most of the staff's background info. All the little secrets that the staff sported were in her files along with the suspicions of even worse ones. But it didn't really matter. All unfit ones would be removed.

She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the door in front of her. Thank god no students were out of their common rooms at times like this. I they'd seen her all out of touch from reality… what a respect killer in class.

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

She saw all the participants organized into a ring with their chairs and tables. Their teacher was situated in the middle, walking around and gesturing with the ever gloved hands. He was saying something about subways. She wasn't entirely sure what it entailed.

"If the need to travel in a subway arises…. Ah excellent, Dolores, you're here. I was wondering when you'd come." That creepy smile was there again. And how she hated the way he said her name. Like his tongue was coated in sugar.

Of course she wasn't aware that it was a perfect imitation of the way she talked when dealing with certain people, namely all of them.

She twisted her face into a smile. "Do continue with the teaching. I'll just observe and will later ask some questions from you and the students…"

"Of course. Now as I was saying…." He continued.

As the lesson progressed, Dolores found herself actually listening what he was saying, as opposed to the observation. She cleared her head and turned her attention to the students. It seemed that all the problem children were there and then some. Even the three transfers were there, which she found odd. But she'd also found it odd that they were in the school, as she was quite sure that the school they claimed to be from didn't exist. Up to this point she had ignored them. Their turn would come soon enough. But eventually she would have to take it up with Dumbledore and eventually with the aurors. You never knew these days.

But enough about them. She manoeuvred herself inside the circle of tables and cleared her throat.

"_Ahem_. Would you have time for my questions now?" She inquired. By all means it was something she could've done after the lesson, without the attention from the students but she had done a public interrogation with every staff member and he would be included. She readied her parchment.

"So, Reklaw, isn't it?" As if she didn't know. "None of the documents I have actually have you first name on them, could you tell me what it is?"

He seemed slightly surprised. She noted that even the students seemed slightly interested. "There isn't? Must have slipped Albus' mind then. It's Kal. My first name is Kal. Written with a K."

"You've taught here this year only?" He answered with a nod and she made another mark on her parchment.

"Do you have intentions to continue teaching this… subject in here at Hogwarts?" Now there was a definite rise on one of his eyebrows. The he nailed her with an amused grin.

"I don't know. At the moment it seems to be under your control whether I do or don't. Though it's been fun so far. The people are nice." There was something nostalgic in his expression.

This wasn't going the way she'd intended it to. But she still had something. In the files she'd requested from the Ministry had all staff members listed. Reklaw's nomination had come after that and she'd asked for information as soon as possible. The answer had been short and sweet: there simply wasn't any info. Which told a lot, if you thought about it.

She decided to change subject.

"Does this course entail anything practical?" Her pen was poised above the parchment. "I believe we've already talked about this." She added pleasantly.

"Indeed we did. Yes, to your question, we do have practicals here, clothes and other stuff like that."

She completely missed the looks exchanged by the students. Well, she hadn't defined the word practical anyway. She asked a few questions more and moved for the kill.

"So, Kal," she emphasised his name, "I've been looking through records and asking people but no one seems to know where you're from. There are no records of you attending any magical schools or institutions. I would like to know where you were taught."

XX

All three exorcists were listening to the poorly disguised interrogation very carefully. The information was proving to be extremely interesting. They'd known already that she was tenacious in her inquiry but this was taking the cake so far.

The scanning, completed via a laser when Nick had finally made it work, had yielded no results. At least they were reasonably sure he wasn't an akuma. But all other options were still open. It seemed that the old witch had the same problem. It was, frankly, damn hilarious to watch.

XX

'They don't know who he is?' Harry thought with slight horror. Images of Voldemort's servants flew through his mind. Was Reklaw a Deatheater. Had Dumbledore finally snapped after everything and allowed the enemy to go lurking inside the school? Ron and Hermione were looking a bit terrified and were making darting glances around the room. Then Hermione nudged Harry (well, nudged was a little mild description since, elbow in the side hurt especially made by Hermione when she was so high strung) and pointed at the transfers. Harry's suspicions, calmed by the long period of inactivity, jumped up around ten notches again when he saw the trio watching the teacher showdown with strange smirks that didn't really add up to the situation. He wanted to see more but then prof. Reklaw (and what kind of first name was Kal anyway) was speaking again.

"I'm sure we can discuss more about this later. But may I do my job now? It is, I believe, the reason why I was hired." Umbridge smirked in the way that usually threw Harry's alarm bells haywire. But it seemed that she would be happy for the time being.

"Of course."

Like the other lessons she stayed until the end and questioned some students about the work they were doing in there. She must have been disappointed with the answers as her frown deepened. It was truly a shame; Harry reflected maliciously, that there were no Slytherins in this course.

When the class ended, Umbridge was the first one out of the door, followed by the rest of the class. That didn't count, of course, The Golden Trio.

"Professor Reklaw?" Hermione started. Reklaw's eyebrow shot up. "I wish to warn you about Umbridge. She can-"

He raised a hand to silence her. His smile was sweet.

"Remember Miss Granger. Battles and wars are two different things. She can have this victory. Sometimes bidding one's time is smarter." He raised his voice a little." And I do hope that Misters Potter and Weasley also note this. For future use. Now off you go."

The door closed. Then Ron blinked.

"What did he mean by that?"

* * *

Ooooh. For some reason I have a craving for Kal/Severus. That's material for some other twisted side story.

Now I'm sure you've noticed how the first chapter is a little weird when I compare it to the rest of the story. At some point I'll be rewriting it a little, making changes to the information shared. It makes sense right? 'cause Dumbledore should be tormented with insecurity.

No Snape in this one. Sad.

Do leave me some feedback on your way out. See ya.


	8. Ready and ACTION!

I intended to post yesterday but FF wouldn't let me log in. (might be the worst excuse ever.)

*Dodge dodge* nice fruits. Thank you for all the great reviews, I love them very much. AndTheWatcherandReader suggested that I get a beta. Any volunteers? *runs*

* * *

Snape always prided himself of being a good man, in his own way. He was a man who could take immense amounts of pressure and still look the same. Well, maybe a little more disgruntled. Usually.

But the kind of pressure that Hogwarts was sporting now wasn't healthy. There was the Ministry but there was also the tension that seemed to go unnoticed by most. At least in his mind. There was something going on with Reklaw and the transfers. 'Something' involved teasing smirks from him and vaguely frustrated looks from them. He knew it didn't really have anything to do with him, (probably) but Reklaw was creepy and creepy people were not tolerated in Snape's carefully messed up world.

Dumbledore wouldn't hear his concerns, didn't even bother pretending to listen. Just waived his wrinkled hand and said not to worry. Severus had his suspicions about their presence. It probably had something to do with the new weapons the Dark Lord had uncovered and was now hiding even from his most loyal supporters.

Snape was almost 100% sure that his two masters were hiding the same thing. Now he just had to find out what it was and Reklaw was his best shot. Now if only he could get him talking….

XX

It was a nice night to lie on the roof of the astronomy tower. Of course it was goddamn cold and there was snow everywhere but really, being a Noah had its advantages. Kal found himself rather bored this evening, there was no class to teach and no DA to spy on. He always felt quite nostalgic while watching the club in action. It was, as far as training goes, better than nothing but the truth was that it was child's play. It was times like these that made him remember all the debt collectors warmly.

Or not. For all of Allen's love for humanity, the debt collectors were excluded. Who makes an 11-year old, underfed boy work in a whorehouse anyway? Not as a prostitute, thank goodness. And people at the Black Order had thought he had been completely innocent about sex. Always treated him like a child when he hadn't been one for- Kal cut the train of thought quickly and sank in the numbing cold. He was a pile of white on untouched snow. The wind was slowly covering him.

A sound was heard in the night and the white pile suddenly had a gleaming red eye when the unseen, black world beyond reality shifted.

XX

There was one thing that not many had noticed about the transfers. All of them had an identical earring. It looked innocent enough, with nice carvings and a cross, but was now cursed as the spawn of devil as it beeped loudly right into their respective ears in the middle of the night. They silently got up and dragged themselves down to the common room, dressed in their gear. Nick the geek gave the battle parameters. And so they were off.

It took them about 20 minutes to reach the place, which was the Dark Forest. It was terribly clichéd and all that but also a strategically sound place for an akuma attack. After ages of similar ones, it was getting quite repetitive.

It turned out to be only a small pack, usually quite easily dispatched despite some of them being level threes. This time though proved to be a small exception as their movements weren't so clumsy and purposeless anymore.

The fight was still criminally easy. After so many years the akumas had gotten rusty. Literally.

Carrie was standing amidst the smoking remains when she felt someone looking her. The de-activated innocence in her rings pulsed faintly and faded. The feeling passed. She raised her brow at Gary who was scanning their surroundings carefully. He shook his head.

"There's probably a lot of weird stuff living in these woods. Don't think about it too hard." He was grinning now, "you always do."

Carrie huffed and turned to Nick who was doing some of his laser magic on the rapidly disappearing bodies. He was frowning.

"They have been somehow tampered. With magic, I believe. They fight more at the level recorded hundred years ago than the level we normally have to fight them. This is really interesting…" He rambled on and was immediately ignored by his teammates. Eventually they started back to the castle. They had gotten inside pretty unnoticed but midway through the corridors they ran into, to the great shock of no one, Snape.

His grin looked nearly sadistic when he surprised them with his sudden appearance. His voice was silky when he spoke.

"You have 3 seconds to start explaining. Starting now."

They barely had time to open their mouths and probably ruin all chances of getting away non-traumatized when the timely interruption of Reklaw halted all attempts. He was wet and seemed to radiate coldness. The smell of snow was everywhere.

"These ones have the Headmaster's permission to ignore curfew. It is important that they are allowed to go as they please."

Snape's face looked like something from the deep end of hell and the exorcists spotted Reklaw gesturing them to get the hell out of there. They did and heard after a few corners a sound reminiscent of the few dangerous animals from Hagrid's class. They ran faster.

XX

The next day, rumours spread that Snape was in an even worse mood than usual and for once the Slytherins suffered from it too. The exorcists were expecting him to jump from behind every corner.

Harry and co. received even worse treatment. But they weren't the only ones. Snape really was on everyone's case today.

On the other hand, Reklaw seemed to be in the best-est of moods today. Every time he was seen, he was humming some eerie tune. It was all so confusing.

XX

Hagrid had finally returned and the Gryffindors were ecstatic. Other houses, not so much. Harry, Ron and Hermione had hurried in the dead of the night straight to his cottage to talk.

His face had been wrecked and they had interrogated his about his whereabouts and the giants. Then Umbridge had rudely interrupted their chat. Afterwards, when Hagrid started pestering them to leave with promises of the next day's lesson, Ron suddenly piped up.

"Oh yeah, there's a new teacher in Hogwarts." Hagrid looked surprised. "He teaches this Muggle Studies extra course, which we're in."

"Why would y'all be in a Muggle Studies? Isn't it only Ron who needs to be there?" He looked disbelievingly at Ron who blushed and muttered something along the lines of 'well sorry I'm not muggle-born or raised by them'.

But Hermione saved him. "Actually it's really useful. The magical folks learn all kinds of interesting stuff there but there's also practical stuff. Like how to act in different situations and some things even I didn't know about and I'm muggle-born." She looked surprised when she admitted this. Ron looked kind of bashful. Hagrid smiled somewhere behind the blood coated beard and ushered them out.

XX

The next Tuesday was the time for the feared Care of Magical Creatures lesson. There wasn't any snow under the trees and all students were looking at anywhere but the dead cow on Hagrid's shoulder. What animal needed a freshly killed cow? That was cut in half?

As it turned out, there was something very creepy, in a true Hagrid fashion. Thestrals looked weird and slightly starved and just… icky.

Umbridge was in the middle of her examination (evil little witch, according to Hermione) when the rustling of the leafless bushes alerted that somebody was arriving.

XX

Kal had been quite amazed to find out that he couldn't get rid of the bowtruckle. Kanda always started ripping new holes into his cloak whenever he tried to extract it and leave it into the forest, back to his own tree.

(And really he could use some respect, it was an approximately 70 years old cloak.)

The cloak had been with him a long time, which meant that some of the Arks magic had bled into it and Kanda soon found the extra dimensions that the inconspicuous cloth hid. Seeking the bowtruckle from the folds of the cloak was clearly impossible, so he decided to leave it be. Probably had found some trees growing in there.

XX

The students noticed that Umbridge's show experienced a sudden distraction in the form of the ever-smiling Reklaw. He was clad in a strangely tattered cloth that didn't seem to have any effect against the cold. If anything, it looked like it gathered the coldest of winds inside it. The smallest students were shivering from the sight.

A young thestral broke away from the flock and quietly made his way towards the man. It started poking his cloak with his nose as if in retaliation. Reklaw patted the animal's head and muttered something. Then he came towards Hagrid, who did know what to make of the casual man he'd met briefly during breakfast.

'Ye can see them?' Hagrid's eyes asked silently. Reklaw gave a peace of sugar to the small one and commented

"They really are beautiful. Completely underappreciated." His wistful look was arrested to the sight of Umbridge fuming at him.

"If I may ask, why are you here professor? Your subject has nothing to do with Magical creatures." Her tone was simply biting. Most of the Slytherins sneered at him.

Reklaw ignored her completely and addressed Hagrid over Umbridge's shoulder, "I apologize for interrupting you lesson. I just had a question related to your subject. I can wait until you're finished."

Hagrid nodded mutely and continued with the lesson. Reklaw magically faded to the background as the class progressed.

When the lesson ended, with Umbridge long gone and they were walking towards the edge of the forest, Hagrid finally asked Reklaw about his problem.

"Ah yes. I trust you are familiar with bowtruckles and their habits?" He looked expectant and Hagrid nodded, feeling strange. Of course he knew about them, it belonged to the subject he taught.

"You see, I'm not so familiar with them but I believe that they usually live in trees, right?"

"Yes they do, so what seems to be the problem then?" Hagrid fell silent and watched as the other man dug around his cloak. Occasionally he could swear that Reklaw's hand went a lot deeper into the folds than it was realistic but then dismissed it as his imagination. Reklaw let out a victorious whoop and held out the squirming creature from it's middle. The students were staring, flabbergasted. They watched him lift his hand straight above him, next to some branches. They all knew that the creature should be reaching for the trees, instead of trashing around, not unlike a real branch in a strong wind.

When Reklaw opened his palm, they expected the bowtruckle either grab the branches or possibly drop on his face and start clawing at it. It did neither. It freezed for a moment and then calmly climbed with it's spindly fingers down a rattled sleeve to his shoulder. It perched momentarily, watching them all with it's black eyes and magically disappeared in the dubious looking folds.

The students were staring at him. Hagrid looked like he didn't believe his eyes.

Reklaw explained, looking sheepish. "I had to visit the forest one day for my class and when I came back, I found him attached to the cloak. After that, I attempted every possible mean to get it return to the forest and, as you can see, it didn't work. I named him already, during a very desperate moment but even then it stayed. Now I'm out of ideas. That's why…" He trailed off looking embarrassedly at Hagrid who just looked confused. After a moment the impenetrable beard started twitching and soon he was laughing deep, rumbling laughs that infected the remaining students around them.

Really, bowtruckles live in trees, guarding them. They didn't not, under any circumstances, live in peoples cloaks.

Reklaw was watching them with a slight but undeniable pout that made some laugh harder. Hagrid finally regained some form of control, feeling refreshed after a long time of constant stress. As to the problem, he had no idea. Maybe he should ask the Headmaster. Hagrid told him that.

Reklaw made an exaggerated, formal bow and walked with the students towards the castle. The swon was deep but they kept a fast pace and were joking all the way up and the bowtruckle even climbed on the professor's head to watch the world and the smiling students.

They were at the front yard now and the children had classes indoors. Reklaw waived them goodbye and started heading towards the greenhouses when Hermione's shout stopped him.

"What name did you give him?" They were waiting impatiently for the answer and for a moment Reklaw seemed contemplative. For a moment he looked nostalgic in the way old people did, bittersweet and yearning.

"I named him Kanda." He then turned and stepped on the path towards the greenhouses. The wizards blinked, confused and suddenly realized that they were late for their classes already but Nick stood there frozen like the snow around him, trying to reach the thought that had escaped him as suddenly as it had appeared.

He was gone, somewhere in his mind for the rest of the day.

XXX

It was just before Christmas when Harry, Hermione and Ron found themselves in the final night class before holidays. The professor had a familiar glint in his eyes which indicated that it was time, once again, for a practical lesson.

"Today's manoeuvre will be quite simple but very useful. As usual, our dummies will demonstrate…." He flicked his wrist, tracing something in the air. Two piles of sand from the corner rearranged themselves into two humanoid forms and stepped into stance.

"Again I remind you, when a wizard attacks someone, he or she shoots a curse or a spell. For Muggle, it's a little more complicated… Today we discuss about the situation where someone has got you by you throat. Watch carefully…"

The sand dolls stood, facing each other. The other doll set it's hands around the other one's neck in a strangling hold.

"This is our starting situation. Of course this is rarely the first thing that happens in a fight but we've already covered that. Remember that this is a position that is very handy when you want to control. Hands around you throat and the subsequent suffocation triggers basic instincts and you hands would automatically wrap round the attacker's in a usually futile attempt to get them to let go. If your attacker was weaker than you, it might work but world rarely goes that way… The point here is to get them to let go, possibly distract them so that you can escape. Heroics are unnecessary in a situation like this. After escaping, you can apparate away, given that you won't be seen. Look carefully at the dolls."

The attacked doll quickly lifted it's arms up from between the attacker's, wrenching them free.

Reklaw continued lecturing. "This one was simple; we can practice it before the end of the lesson. Now to today's main treat. Occasionally just wrenching free isn't enough, you have to restrain them. This is how you do it."

The dolls were now back in position. With a snap of his fingers, the attacked performed a complicated looking manoeuvre that ended with the attacker immobilised. With another snap, they repeated, now slower. And again.

"Divide into pairs. If you don't get the hang of it, look carefully at the dolls or ask me."

Harry faintly thought that this would have been a got move to know when he was growing up but pushed it behind his thoughts and concentrated on strangling Ron, who carefully mimicked the dolls. He didn't get it completely right but wasn't far. He went slower many times until it felt good. Then suddenly Harry found himself restrained by Ron and started grinning at the victorious look he had when he let him go. They switched parts.

In general, these lessons were lots of additional work among his extracurricular stuff. But somehow he liked the things they did here, the information and especially the practical things.

X

Carrie immobilised Gary in moments after they started. Their level of knowledge was miles above the other students but they needed something to do on this hideously boring mission. There had been only one attack for god's sake! She attempted to lure Nick into fighting her but he was staring the corner again with some impressive wrinkles in his forehead. She signalled to Gary about a surprise attack, which was executed in seconds. Nick snapped out of his thoughts to find himself under a pile of bodies. He squirmed and cursed at the idiots.

Reklaw's voice forced them to get up, looking anywhere else than the professor. His voice was very amused. "Be sure that we will get to that eventually but if you would now return to the instructed move?"

XXX

Harry was battling with his holiday homework when he suddenly heard that Phineas Nigellus was back again, muttering to himself. The annoyed tone was a huge change to the normal, snide sneer.

"… full of all kinds of freaks these days. What is Albus thinking, allowing those strangers in with only a letter? And that guy too, eating and eating like a horse…"

Harry had never been an idiot. Strangers probably meant the trio that had joined them this year but the Eater didn't ring any bells. So, going for the simplest way, he asked. Perhaps Phineas was annoyed enough with Dumbledore to answer. Suppressing the slight tinge of hurt that came with any thought of Dumbledore these days, he opened his mouth.

"Who eats like a horse?"

Phineas shut up instantly and glared at him. It reminded Harry of Aunt Petunia on some summer's day when Dudley had walked in wearing muddy shoes and she had clearly whished that she could blame Harry for it. She hadn't but he'd still had to clean it up. The memory made his interest waiver.

Phineas looked around in an almost conspiratory fashion and, after checking everywhere he could see, he beckoned Harry closer.

"Albus has brought in outsiders." He gestured wildly with his hands. Harry didn't understand anything from the frenzied movements. "Do you mean the exchange students?"

Phineas looked very solemn. "Them too. But mostly that guy." Harry frowned. The only new one was- "Professor Reklaw?" He barely remembered to stifle his voice.

Phineas suddenly cocked his head, as if listening. He created a long meaningful look at Harry and stepped sideways, out of the frame.

Harry was left with his head full of questions over the cryptic words which he would later mull over with Ron and Hermione.

XX

Nick was staring the window again in the empty dorm room. The important thought was somewhere, hidden in his mind. He was absently toying with a chocolate bar Carrie had bought for him.

In his mind he was reviewing the paintings at HQ. There were lots of them, people and scenery. He recalled a big painting in their cafeteria. It was, ironically, an image of the cafeteria 100 years ago, with it's varying personas and their habits.

In the painting, there is mostly "finders" and scientists. The term "finder" had always been problematic, not to Nick but to Gary who couldn't really apply the present situation to that 100 years ago but enough about that and back to the painting.

Somewhere among the mass of people there is a less populated table. Most of the people sitting also had strangely ominous, black uniforms.

When the painting was showed to the newbies of Sect. XIII their guide had asked them to identify the groups visible in it.

The scientists had been easy. They were people in all shapes and sizes all wearing a white lab coat and all with the same exhausted expression. All in all, they looked like death warmed over. Though the ones with a coffee cup in front of them looked like visitors of the land Euphoria.

Finders in the ever-present uniforms, some determined, some resigned and some serene. Doing their part to save this world.

But in this painting was also the most complete group of exorcists. In hallways there were various pictures with various groupings but it was in this painting that they were all together.

All generals were there except for Cross but that man wasn't anywhere. A gray haired, gentle looking man was sketching something on the pad in his lap instead of eating the cold-looking meal in front of him. Nick had always thought that general Tiedoll seemed like he'd been sketching for hours.

Next to Tiedoll there was Nine and Sokaro, both scary in their own right. The legends of them two were incredible but in the painting there were two persons, eating. Admittedly, Sokaro looked metallic, which he was.

Somewhere to the right the crowd of black-clothed people got younger. A shade of green (Lenalee was what they called her, the first crystal type.), bright red (his name was Lavi the Bookman, which automatically negated the "Lavi") and many others including Marie, Miranda, Chaoji and Timothy.

But Nick's attention was in the final duo. Painting depicted them as a pile of food with some white on top and blue hair resting on a muscular shoulder. But in a hallway that was rarely used was a painting with both of them.

Eternally scowling at anyone who dared to take a look at him, there was Yu Kanda. But the people 100 years ago knew him as "Kanda".

This he could buy as a coincident.

He went by the window and breathed into it. The moisture fogged the window, offering a surface. Nick wrote.

REKLAW

Then he turned it around.

WALKER.

* * *

See ya next time.


	9. Kickass level 4 and co

I'm so sorry I have no idea what happened with this. So sorry everyone. I should just keel over and…. Okay not that. I'll stop now before people get angry. Thanks everyone for reminding me and keeping up with the complaints. (and this story)

* * *

Nick had to abandon his startling revelation in favour of the alarm that sounded from the scanner. There were akumas in the forest again and they were moving fast. Too fast. Nick whipped out his communicator device and pressed the alarm button.

XXX

Dumbledore was handling one of his devices in his office when the painted figure of Phineas Nigellus returned with a satisfied smile. It didn't take a genius to figure out the reason so Albus just frowned at him and concentrated on listening to the sudden whispering of the wards around the school. He suspected that the guests had something to do with it. He was right, of course, but had to ignore them. He had invited these people in, he had to trust them as well. But really, in his opinion the Christmastime was very overrated. All kinds of bad things happened during Christmas.

XXX

The Exorcist trio was running towards the Black Forest with pretty impressive leaps. The akumas were only 100 meters from the edge and if they went past it, they would be visible to all and that was something they couldn't have. These wizards had to be kept on their high horse.

The blackness of the forest swallowed them abruptly but they couldn't afford to stop. A perimeter had to be set and hope that Hagrid wasn't around. Carrie flung the sealing bugs wide to form a barrier, hoping that the akumas would be too stupid to go around it. Technology that the Earl had created was now used to stop him. Or what was left of him, anyway.

Carrie was in the middle of a jump, just activating her Innocence when she came face to face with the Level 4.

XXX

Severus was just returning from meeting the Dark Lord

(and for Merlin's sakes the man was unoriginal. The situation was made even more hilarious when Severus compared the man to his muggle counterparts. Now that guy, at least, was efficient instead of this cloak-and-dagger stuff.)

and was in a bad mood. His strides took him quickly towards the castle but he suddenly stopped when he heard explosions coming from the forest. He had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't really want to know about Hagrid's latest pet project (pun intended.)

The atmosphere changed when he came to the door. Reklaw was coming out, strangely unaffected by the biting cold air that must have assaulted him when he stepped through the door. Severus was thrown back by the lines of worry in his face. Normal people wouldn't have even noticed the difference but Snape did. The smirk on his face looked pained and worried when he was gazing at the forest. Snape had a bad feeling about the explosion being something else than he'd initially assumed. It was at opposite of everything he'd ever been taught about _things you don't know now and should find out about._ He squared his shoulders and looked at him in the eyes.

"Will you take care of it?" The surprise in Reklaw's eyes spoke volumes. The he grinned, a boy's smile that confirmed Snape's suspicions about his age being something else. "See you on dinner, Severus." then he closed the door on Snape's face. Severus blinked and went to report to Dumbledore. It would not do good delay it too much. Legilimency was very useful to conceal the fact that he generally associated Dumbledore with spiders.

XXX

The akuma should've been easy to dispatch. But now, even the weakest ones were alive due to the presence of a single Level 4. Gary was already lying immobile on the ground, living but it was looking bad. Carrie had taken a major hit in the beginning but was still moving, trying to distract the level 4 so that Nick could possibly take care of the lesser akumas. Needless to say, the plan wasn't working.

Carrie was struck back with way too much power and she slid across the ground to a stop, barely conscious. She could see the lesser akumas trying to break the barrier. She turned her eyes towards the baby-like, slightly rusted Level 4. It was grinning madly and starting at her direction.

Nick readied his Frisbee. He might be able to knock the thing out of flight towards the other akumas and cause them all them to explode. The chances were that it would cost them the barrier but at the moment it was the only shot he had. He opened his mouth to call his attack…

and was stopped by the sight of the akuma struggling against something. Nick did have an inkling who it was. But now it was not the time to worry about that. He launched his Frisbee towards the lesser akumas, killing them easily, at the same time dodging the Level 4 getting thrown at his direction. He turned to see Reklaw.

"You are him, aren't you?"

"Doesn't seem very productive to deny it then. What gave it away?" Nick stared at him. Was he serious?

"Well you did everything else but shout your name right at us!" So okay, maybe not that much but he'd been so infuriating at them that even an idiot would've noticed something strange.

He was answered with a sheepish look and a shrug. "Well yeah. Cannot argue that one. But in any case, you should get them out of the immediate vicinity. I'll take care of the Level 4."

Nick didn't waste time and was already running towards his teammates. On his way he passed Reklaw, except not _he was now Allen Walker, _and saw bizarre cracks on his face. When he'd collected Gary and Carrie he turned to have a one last look and saw how the man's disguise literally cracked and melted from his features like sand. Then a bright white light erupted from him and Nick had to go.

XXX

Harry had opened the Marauder's Map in order to look for something that was not normal. He spotted it almost immediately when he saw the three transfer students at the edge of the Dark Forest coming from inside the forest. Their speed was too fast to be normal. Harry checked the direction they were coming from and witnessed something he thought wasn't possible. There were strange stars all over the place, flocking. And in the middle was "Kal Reklaw". Whose name suddenly changed to "Allen Walker". Harry's mind went to the worst case scenario in seconds. What if there was another impostor at Hogwarts like there had been the year before? Just what had Phineas meant? The map showed the stars disappearing in a puff of smoke. Harry yelled for Ron and Hermione.

XXX

Nick felt the shockwaves rattle and finally kill the barrier. He lifted his attention from Carrie and Gary to scan the area for any leftover akuma. There was none. He allowed himself to relax.

"Do you need help with them?" Nick barely fought off a heart attack at the sound of Reklaw right next to his ear. He turned to see him looking decidedly different. He looked like the painting had described him but it was clear that he was older. It wasn't visible in his face or anywhere else, he just was. Nick lifted his eyebrows at the faintly blissful expression. Frankly, it looked like he was on drugs. He ignored it.

"Yes it would actually be nice. Could you take Gary since you most likely can make his mass move somewhere without straining anything?" Reklaw (Walker, Nick corrected himself) smiled at the jab. Probably had some fond memories himself.

They both gathered their assigned victims to their arms and turned towards the edge of the forest and the castle. Walker looked contemplating, "We probably need to take them directly to that Hospital Wing. These types of injuries are a bitch." Nick made a noncommittal sound before he realized that Walker couldn't exactly go inside the castle like this. As if reading his thoughts Walker quipped, "I'll go through the window and leave Gary there on one of the beds. Do you have a good cover story already?" Nick nodded. "Well I'll be on my way then, see you on class." And with a last, clichéd smile he left.

Nick was left in a cloud of dust Walker had kicked up. He sighed and speeded off. What excuse Madam Pomfrey would buy?

Hopefully there would be no one in the corridors.

XXX

"Blimey! Are you saying that the name actually changed?" Harry nodded almost earnestly, despite the general atmosphere surrounding the Black house. Hermione was biting her lip thoughtfully.

"Didn't you say that Polyjuice potion had effects like this on the map last year? Crouch junior was able to sneak around as Mad Eye with no problems." The all silently agreed on that one. "I can accept that he might be using the potion but it only holds for an hour and this timing looks awfully too good to be true. And what were those stars, then? Enemy? Ally? I don't think we should do anything just yet." She concluded. The boys were watching like she'd lost her mind.

"Hermione, are you sure your opinion isn't… affected in any way?" They all had not so fond memories of Lockhart. She went a little red and then flared up. "No this has nothing to do with that. I'm just thinking that Dumbledore would have taken that into account when he hired him, considering what happened last time. And the course was optional; there was a good chance that none of us would've taken it, especially Harry. And… I think I'm going to hit the books once we get back to Hogwarts. To see if there's any Walkers around." She trailed off. Ron was open mouthed. "That's your great plan? To hit the books?" Hermione was clearly frustrated. "Yes Ron, that's my great plan. Did you have any better ones?" Ron's predictable silence was cut off by Harry. "Well anyway, I'll go see if I can catch Lupin. He might know about spells that can cheat the map." He closed the door to a silence.

XXX

Snape had a generally bad feeling of the situation and was quietly waiting outside Reklaw's room, having gone there without even visiting his own room. He heard footsteps from the chilling corridor and saw the torches light up. The ambiguous character that walked into the light was Reklaw but seemed different. He had a hood on to prevent from being seen and was holding his right arm in a careful position, like it was broken. Severus clicked his tongue. Reklaw barely paused to let himself in to his room, allowing Severus to enter as well.

Severus light up the fireplace and regarded Reklaw carefully. "Is it taken care of now?" was met with an amused face. He looked like he would've shrugged if his arm wasn't wrecked. Of course that would've moved the hood and risked full exposure of his face when now only the eyes were seen from the shadows. But Severus could see some wisps of white hair escape the confines of the garment. He had enough bad experiences with people with white hair so he didn't ask.

"Yep, everything's okay." Reklaw then looked at him speculatively. "Mind if you hold my arm in place for a moment?"

"Shouldn't you be going to the hospital wing for that?" A look. "Of course not. What was I thinking?"

XXX

Albus was waiting impatiently for the remaining members still missing from the night's dinner.

Madam Pomfrey had already announced that the two transfer students had had a bad encounter with the Whomping Willow and the third one was at their bedside. They had started eating already but Reklaw and Severus were still missing. Albus was severely tempted to send a house elf after them but it turned out he didn't have to as the duo walked through the door engaged in a silent conversation. It seemed that Severus' suspicion was still present and strong as ever. Albus sighed. There wasn't much he could do.

A while later Nick walked in, looking haggard but calm, like his fears had been calmed for now. He mumbled something briefly and sat down, collecting food to his plate.

XX

Nick wolfed down his food and started collecting a second plate. He accidentally caught Walker's eyes and bit his lip, insecure how to act around this man that was shrouded in legends, lies and mysteries. He didn't know, but now, for the moment he was grateful. He hoped his eyes conveyed that feeling.

Walker smiled, so apparently they did.

* * *

After this long without updates it would be bad manners to ask for reviews. But anyway… Review?

Additional stuff… I watched Iron Man 2 yesterday and found it to be…. very traditional in the superhero movie sense. But that's okay I guess, since nobody goes to watch Iron Man 2 and expect anything too deep anyway. So factoring in the expectations I had about it, I liked it very much.

Bye! *runs in the opposite direction, hoping the IM2 distraction worked*


	10. A Snowball Stress Reduction

*Headdesks* Yeah… Hi guys, how's life? Mine's changed a little. I graduated (spring) and moved temporarily to Belgium (fall) and somewhere in between I had writer's block and a complete lack of inspiration. But now I could start to write again. This is really ridiculous.

Disclaimer: (you can probably guess the tune)

Money money money,

I'm not getting,

anything at all.

Sorry for the time jumps and the slow progress…

* * *

Hermione was running her hands down the spines of the books in the Black library. Walker… Walker… There hadn't been many Walkers around. It certainly wasn't an old pure-blood family. Some records mentioned Walkers, but more extensive research had yielded no results. Walker, nor Reklaw could be found from the Hogwards records. But she wasn't very surprised; it was after all a palindrome. She had decided to approach her research from a different viewpoint. The transfer students had been there as well. She recalled seeing a symbol of some kind in some of Carrie's items. A decorated cross. She only needed to find a context for the cross, which would then lead to the key for the rest of this mystery.

She had to tread carefully. She still didn't know if they were allies or enemies or what was between them and Reklaw.

It was Christmas now, though. It was a season of celebration.

XXX

Carrie felt distinctly beaten up. It was by no means a new feeling, but this time it seemed worse than normal. She was decidedly avoiding about thinking the level 4. It had been very creepy looking. No diagram or picture she'd ever seen could compare. Damn it was ugly. Stop thinking about it. Think of that cute scientist intern in the HQ.

Except the guy was really an idiot. Damn it. She decided to look at Gary instead, though the sight left much for the imagination. He was covered with bandages. The damn winged baby did a number on him. She wondered where Nick was. Possibly enjoying a Christmas meal.

She'd barely noticed it was Christmas. When normally she'd spend it with her parents, this wasn't exactly the first holiday she'd spent on a mission. Things just cropped up sometimes.

There was candy on the bedside table. It tasted sweet. Not like the ash it normally tasted like.

XXX

Severus had surprisingly good jokes. Mostly they were about broken bones and the various ways one could fix them, but it wasn't as is Kal didn't appreciate them. Luckily the body of a Noah could take ridiculous amounts of damage. THE Noah, actually. A massive familial killing spree, not necessarily committed by himself, does wonders for status.

He eyed the expanse of food in front of him, wondering how much he should eat. Clearly others were stuffing themselves silly, but he technically ate the same amount as a snack. Decisions, decisions.

He too started stuffing himself stealthily. Snape began ignoring him the second he did. Kal pretended to be unaware of the reason. Nick was much more productive to tease anyway. Snape was more like entertainment.

XXX

When Umbridge saw the pair appearing through the Great Hall doors, her suspicions about Reklaw soared skywards when she noted the close association with the former Death Eater. She noted this new development in her mental checklist of "_Things__that__are__suspicious__about__Reklaw__"_ . She also distinctly glimpsed at the serene countenance of the Headmaster. He seemed to have relaxed from his almost unnoticeable fidgeting. It was nearly as interesting as the sudden leave of the Potter boy and his friends. From her sources she'd only found out that they had left in a hurry, as in panic. She had a feeling it had something to do with the rumor that a half-dead man had been found inside the ministry. Nevertheless, she would have to make her displeasure known to the Headmaster.

XXX

The days after Christmas the castle was slowly covered in snow. The thick white blanket luckily covered all remains of the fight and all evidence of footsteps having ever been made. It allowed Nick to relax and continue the vigil beside his friend's beds. The castle was so silent, it was almost ridiculous. The recovery of Carrie and Gary was steady and it was expected they would recover before the spring semester started. It brought a sense of security to Nick. Their mission was safe and they would be able to have their long overdue conversation with Reklaw mostly in peace. Though the lack other of students could encourage Umbridge to keep a closer eye on them. It would make having a private conversation with him nearly impossible.

Nick wondered if there were any places where there wasn't a danger of being overheard in the entire castle. These wizards, despite their inherent need for secrecy, seemed to have no such qualms within their own community.

Outside seemed like the best option so far.

XXX

The remainder of the vacation passed relatively peacefully. There were no new attacks, since the lack of students made the school an undesirable target for any Dark Lords with automatic weapons of mass destruction. Kanda was rediscovering the folds of the cloak with practiced efficiency. The contents had changed drastically after the momentary shedding of disguise that his host had done. The worlds had gained a sharper edge, whereas before they had been soft and muted, like his host. There had been facades and illusions that defied Kanda's ability to understand. That had partly made the worlds so interesting. But now there were less illusions and more honest traps, sometimes with painful consequences. It was clear that his host recognized this in himself and was wary of letting Kanda linger too long inside the folds. Despite how he termed Kanda as a menace to his clothing, it was apparent that he didn't want his "pet" to die either. For appearances sake, Kanda always protested a little and his host would only smile in a vaguely distant manner.

"I just don't think it's a good idea to be there too much." Some things should be left lying.

XXX

Christmas vacation was finally ending. It had never occurred to Umbridge that maybe the last peaceful moments of the vacation should be treasured. Instead, she decided to begin her campaign against Reklaw for real now, starting with Snape. She knew precisely what was in the file the Ministry had about the man, but she wasn't entirely sure if it would be of any use. Snape had Dumbledore's backing and his word had weight. Bringing up his past as a Death Eater would be of no use. But she had _something_ which she couldn't say for Reklaw. She speculated during the long days in her office that Reklaw could be someone from the few lost years in Snape's file. She also supposed he could be a connection of Dumbledore's, since that particular group was far and wide. But really, Reklaw seemed to get along with Snape way too well. In her opinion a "former" Death Eater would be paranoid to a fault and incapable of forming normal bonds. Thus Reklaw could only be someone from his circle of friends.

She would start by forcing him to help her in her endeavor to make a file of Reklaw.

XXX

_Harry was not especially glad to hear about Snape teaching him anything more than Potions. Why the hell not Dumbledore instead? The whole situation was excessively unpleasant. It really stung, to be betrayed like that by his headmaster and then set with his least favorite teacher. He couldn't say though, which hurt more. _

But he could ignore that for the moment, as Hermione suddenly appeared to his shared room with some books from the Black library. She'd suddenly started explaining to him about religious symbols and their variables, probably drawing on her education in ancient runes a little as well. Harry was not entirely sure why and asked her why it was relevant. She paused as if to gather strength from the gods and then started taking Harry through the situation with Reklaw.

"So we have a new teacher, that basically teaches us practical muggle studies and self-defense. And at the same time we get three transfer students from some school I've never read about before. And almost immediately this tension between them develops, taunting and those kind of small things. Don't tell me you haven't noticed how he sometimes treats them during lessons?" Harry stared blankly, causing Hermione to sigh in exasperation. At this point Ron entered the room, demanding to know what they were talking about. Hermione explained again and received an equally blank look from him. Nevertheless she continued. "I tried looking for Reklaw and Walker in the library here, because it has a large take on pure-blood families but I couldn't find anything at all. Well actually there was a branch of Walkers but they died of like four centuries ago, so it can't be that. But then I thought about looking it from the transfer students side. I remember that on Carrie's trunk there is this really ornate cross that is also on some of her other items that don't exactly look any school issued. I made a sketch of it. It's rough but it'll give you an idea." Ron suddenly interrupted her.

"What do you mean, us?"

"Well of course you're going to help me; there are a lot of books we need to get through, if it even is here. So I collected some books from the Black library. We can't exactly take them with us to Hogwarts so we have to look through them here. I'll go back to the library now and try to look some more." She promptly left the room, muttering to herself about the possibilities.

Harry and Ron were left alone in the room, staring each other in horror. When they finally absorbed the monumentality of the task a whimper was left out of their throats. Harry could swear the painting in the corner was sniggering at them.

XXX

When Snape came out of Dumbledore's office, just having found out about his little extra assignment, his first route took him to the Astronomy tower. Despite the fact that it was beyond freezing, he quietly contemplated on his distasteful new project. There were so many things that could go wrong with this little idea. He simply loathed the idea of spending any more time in the same space with Potter and dwelling into his thoughts definitely qualified as an even more unattractive idea. He had little interest for the brat's company beyond what was necessary and he was perfectly aware that the brat shared his sentiments. He toyed with his wand a little, casting a spell to warm himself up. He might dwell mostly in the dungeons, but that did not mean he didn't need to get out of there sometimes. Apparently someone else though the same.

"Is that fresh air you're breathing?" Severus barely kept himself from flinching and turned purposefully slowly. Just to spite. His new acquaintance was not disturbed the least.

"Perhaps. Or alternatively it may be just cold. Why are you lying on the roof?" A pause. "Covered in snow?"

Kal smirked above him in a conspiratory manner. "I'm waiting something to happen. I have a feeling our dear colleague the Toad is planning something. " Snape looked at him blankly for a moment. The Toad? Then it suddenly dawned to him. He pursed his lips in an effort to reign in his amusement. He succeeded as well, he wasn't the best spy for nothing.

"Well that isn't exactly unexpected. She does not exactly like me, so of course she is going to suspect something is going on." Kal raised a brow, looking somehow strange when framed by the whiteness of the snow. "So it isn't just me she dislikes…" He stood up on the roof and Severus had to jump aside to dodge the snow that fell. Kal jumped down, not slipping at all on the icy surface of the stone floor. Severus suddenly noticed that he was surprisingly close, almost uncomfortably so. The mist of his breath hit Severus right in the face.

"But that's not what's bothering you, is it?" He didn't feel especially warm, even though logic dictated that in the freezing temperature around them he should be feeling some warmth radiating from him. He didn't. He pushed it from his mind.

"No. It is related to our esteemed headmaster." He ground out, as his bad mood returned. He was almost tempted to take his frustration on Reklaw. He had a nagging feeling it wouldn't work.

Kal didn't ask him to elaborate but instead started fashioning a pile of snow into a vaguely human shape. Severus opted to stay out of childish activities but could at the same time feel his annoyance ebb away. He vaguely noted the famous bowtruckle climbing out from the folds of the same odd cloak and joining him in his scrutiny of the snowy work in progress. After few minutes there stood a surprisingly life-like sculpture of Dumbledore on the battlement of the tower. Reklaw turned, satisfied with his finished product.

"So would you like to accompany me to dinner, then?"

The abrupt change of subject was almost welcomed. Severus could only agree. They turned towards the door, Reklaw going first. Severus was almost inside when he suddenly stopped and backpedaled. Reklaw was left holding the door open when Severus quickly crouched and started making a big snowball. He took extra care to make it as icy and hard as he could. He then turned and measured the distance, smirking.

The snowball hit the miniature Headmaster directly to the torso, tipping it over the edge and on to the yard below.

Severus could admit in all fairness to feeling a little better now.

XXX

On the final evening in the Black house they were are eating dinner together when Harry suddenly had an idea about their little search. They were seated side by side all three of them, arguing for once about homework and not about rosaries, when Harry suddenly asked a general question from the room.

"Does anyone know anything about this professor Reklaw we have at Hogwarts, Hermione was just curious about him." The conversation around the table ceased suddenly, as everyone suddenly gained contemplative expressions, except for Hermione who was silently fuming about being used as an excuse.

"I don't think there is much actually. Dumbledore just showed up one day and announced that he'd hired an extra teacher to teach the children much needed life skills or something like that. Didn't even tell us his name. So it's Reklaw then. What's his first name?" Harry frowned at this information. Just where had this guy come from then?

"Isn't that a bit strange? So he just hires some random person to teach." So Harry might have felt a little vindictive towards Dumbledore right now.

"I'm sure he has his reasons. Now eat your dinner, you are still too thin." Mrs Weasley interrupted and decisively changed the subject. But Sirius wasn't done yet and asked for the first name again.

"Oh, it's Kal, I think. That's what he's called." Lupin suddenly started hacking up his tea.

XXX

It was the last day of vacation and the students were returning from their no-doubt tense Christmas vacations. Dumbledore could in all honesty admit to being one of the primary instigators of the public feud and felt sorry for the children but truth had to be told, no matter how painful. If only other people would understand this.

He was watching out of his office window, waiting for confirmation from the wards that Harry and the others had returned. When the confirmation came, he waited calmly for Tonks to appear to report about the situation. When she finally did, she was accompanied by Lupin who looked like he had something to say. When Tonks dutifully reported about the journey he stayed back, fidgeting. When Tonks was getting ready to leave and was waiting at the door Lupin informed her that there was something he needed to discuss with Dumbledore and yes she could go ahead. It was only after closing the door that Lupin turned towards the desk completely and actually thought about what he should ask. Dumbledore looked at him, smiling over his spectacles. Remus decided to go with his original plan.

"About this new teacher of yours… Where did you find him?" Dumbledore cocked his head speculatively.

"I take it you've met him before?" An uncertain nod. This was a slight surprise to Dumbledore, especially if they were talking about the same person. But then he remembered the cloak. Of course.

"Well I must say he's a good teacher, like you were. He has especially taken a shine to our three transfer students, though I can't imagine precisely why." But Lupin clearly remembered Dumbledore saying in the past that these three people weren't really students at all. But if there was a connection between them…

Lupin wasn't yet ready to pursue that particular train of thought so he left it as such. He'd need more information about the situation before he could jump to any conclusions. Thus he bid good day to Dumbledore and hastily left the castle before that many students could recognize or remember him. He had a mission to do anyway.

* * *

…and the slashy undertones to Kal and Severus just keep writing themselves without my permission.

So again I apologize for the ridiculously long wait. I'd like to thank all the reviewers for their efforts, I really love you guys. I shall go hide behind the fruit screen now.

Au revoir.


End file.
